Define 'Human'
by Da-Deranged-Dude
Summary: Death is only the beginning for a certain blonde. Reborn with new abilities, two lords' blessings, and the help of new and old friends alike, Uzumaki Naruto will create his own legend. Half-Angel!Naru, Half-Demon!Naru. NaruHarem. Reviews make me happy!
1. Of Angels and Demons

**Notes:** I just stepped over the line by starting yet another story. Don't like it? GET OVER IT! You can't stem my desire to write as I gain new ideas. Um… yeah. I won't update this story as commonly as the other two, but when I finish the others, I will make sure to put a lot of attention on this story.

Anyways, this story is NaruHarem. The Harem will consist of two OCs and two others of your choosing. The poll starts here.

Sakura  
Hinata  
Ino  
Temari  
Tenten  
Yugito  
Ayame

Choose only two!

**Disclaimer: The only place I will own Naruto is on a Halo match.**

* * *

**Define 'Human'**

**Prologue: Of Angels and Demons**

Two blades collided with a loud clang, again and again. The force with which they struck would easily break bone. Their edges were so sharp they could literally cut through solid steel. The speed they moved in was practically invisible to the average human eye. They curved gracefully into deadly arcs, seemingly cutting the wind around them.

One of the blades was a kodachi, a sword of Japanese origin. It was shorter than a katana, but every bit as deadly. It sacrificed sturdiness and power for speed and momentum. It was a very suitable weapon for a shinobi.

The other blade was a chokuto, another Japanese sword. The chokuto was designed to be held reverse, the dull side of the blade pressing lightly against the wielder's forearm. It acted more like an extendable bladed armguard than a sword. It was very mobile and the preferred weapon for shinobi as well.

What was more remarkable, were the two beings wielding the blades. They stood atop a large waterfall that was flanked by two enormous stone statues. The waterfall fell into a deep canyon and ran down a river that led into an impossibly large valley. The Valley of the End; fitting. Many battles that altered the course of this world were fought in and around this valley. It seemed another was about to take place.

One of the beings, the one with the kodachi, growled as he blurred forward, seemingly intent on slicing the other in half. The other figure stood his ground, unsurprised by the kodachi-wielder's speed. He quickly raised his right and blocked the kodachi with his chokuto. The chokuto-wielder hissed in the other being's face.

Dark flame-like marks spread from the chokuto-wielder's neck. It spread up his neck and all over his body. The marked lightened to a grayish hue as they spread and covered the man's body. The back of the man's shirt ripped open as grotesque hand-like wings erupted from his shoulder blades. Twin ivory horns grew from above his temples and curved upwards. To finish the picture, a thin, snake-like tail burst out the back of his pants. A sharp, curved blade extended from the end of his tail, giving it a similar appearance of a scorpion's tail. A sickly purple aura surrounded him.

The kodachi-wielder growled at his opponent's transformation. A mix of silver, blue, and red energy suddenly flowed out of his pores. The red energy gathered especially behind the man's waist and on top of his head. The silver energy did the same for the kodachi-wielder's shoulder blades and in an area above his head. Then the energies solidified. The red energy turned into a white-tipped red tail and a pair of crimson fox ears. The silver turned into a pair of pure white feathery wings and a shining gold halo.

"Dobe…" The chokuto-wielding man whispered. His eyes flared blood red, three comma-shaped marks rotating around his pupil.

"Teme…" The kodachi-wielder whispered back. His own cerulean eyes began to glow as his pupil became slitted.

* * *

A head bearing silver gravity-defying hair leapt through the trees along with a small dog. He grunted as he rushed towards the Valley of the End as fast as he could. The man needed to stop them… before they ended up killing each other.

'_Why is it that the ones I create bonds with always end up in trouble?'_ The man thought solemnly. _'They've all died… My teammates, my sensei… I will not let my students die as well!'_

He renewed his resolve to stop them and sped on through the trees.

The small canine tried his best to keep up with his master. He sniffed the air. "We're close."

"Good." The man replied. He raised the hitai-ate that covered his left eye, revealing a powerful Mangekyou Sharingan. "Hold on, Naruto; hold on, Sasuke. I'm coming."

* * *

The being with feathered wings and a fox tail blocked a slash by his opponent and countered with a thrust to his opponent's heart. The chokuto-wielder swiftly brought his hand like wing in front of him. The kodachi thrust deep into the flesh of the wing. It wouldn't budge no matter how much the young man pulled.

"Kukukuku." The horned man chuckled from behind his crude, but effective defense. "Big mistake Naruto."

Naruto shouted out as the wing slammed into him, sending him flying upwards. The blonde-haired man quickly spread his own wings and hung in the air, glaring at his adversary. The man chuckled yet again as he looked at the tip of the kodachi penetrating through to the inside of his wing. He grabbed the blade, ignoring the fact that the edge cut his hand, and pulled it, hilt and all, through his wing. The hole in the wing and the cuts in his palm quickly sealed. He smirked as he bit the blade of the kodachi. The sword suddenly cracked and broke in half from the force of the horned man's bite. The chokuto-wielder spit out the bits of steel in his mouth and threw the remains of the kodachi into the river.

The blonde growled as he watched his beloved weapon go over the waterfall. "Sasuke, you bastard!"

Sasuke's smirk grew wider. He sheathed his chokuto and gripped the wrist of his left hand. Dark-colored lightning expanded from the Uchiha's palm. Curious flapping and chirping noises emanated from the lightning. Naruto scowled. He held out his own hand and his silver, red, and blue energies swirled into it. They mixed as they began to mold a softball-sized orb in the blonde's hand. The end result was a ball of pure white energy.

"**Hakatebetsu Chidori**…" Sasuke rasped. He had poured in almost all of his remaining energy into this attack. The cursed man flapped his disfigured hand-wings and rose to Naruto's level.

"**Hateshiganai Rasengan**…" Naruto said, desperately trying to stay conscious. The enormous amount of strain on his body caused by maintaining the white orb was ungodly.

They flapped their wings for one final time, shooting towards each other. The silver-haired man, Kakashi, had reached them as the two attacks collided. However the resulting shockwave of energy blew him back into the forest.

'_No, I'm too late…_' He thought before blacking out. His canine companion poofed away, returning to the summoning plane. The energy manifested itself into a large sphere that spanned for miles. Then it imploded upon itself and there was nothing but black…

* * *

Twelve-year old Naruto awoke with a gasp. He sighed in relief. "It was just a dream."

Suddenly Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chouji barged into his apartment, each having a frantic look adorned on their faces. Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Naruto! Sasuke has defected from the village!" Shikamaru exclaimed. The blonde Jinchuuriki's eyes widened.

"Nani!? Let's go!" The blonde said as he quickly changed into his orange jumpsuit.

* * *

It was afternoon, nearing sunset. Sakura and several others, civilian and shinobi alike, stood at the village gates, awaiting the return of the last member of the Sasuke Retrieval Team.

Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Lee and Chouji were all brought back safely by the Sand Siblings. They were now at the hospital, treating their wounds. The other members of the Konoha 11 were at the gates, waiting for Naruto and Kakashi.

A figure appeared in the distance. The pink-haired girl could barely make out silver hair.

Sakura grinned widely as she rushed forward to meet her sensei and Naruto, who had hopefully brought Sasuke back with them. The crowd at the gates followed her lead and ran towards them as well. As soon as she got close to them, she stopped grinning. Kakashi was walking slowly, his head looking down at the body he was carrying bridal style in his arms.

She gasped. Naruto was in her sensei's arms, a deep bloody hole in his chest. The crowd stopped in their tracks as soon as they all saw the two shinobi. Kakashi had stopped moving as well. He looked up at them, tears falling from his only visible eye. A pregnant silence hung for a full five minutes. Then it was broken by Sakura's terrified scream.

The pink-haired girl fell to her knees, her eyes wide with shock and her tear glands pumping out liquid. A big-chested woman pushed her way to the front of the group.

"K-Kakashi… Mission report." Tsunade slowly said. She desperately held back her tears. As much as the Godaime wanted to cry, she could not break down in front of her village. The Slug Sannin knew that she had to be a role model; she had to show that Konoha was strong, physically and emotionally. But this was especially hard, for this young boy was like her surrogate brother.

The silver-haired man slowly nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. I found Naruto and Sasuke at the Valley of the End. S-Sasuke… Sasuke had used **Chidori** to pierce straight through Naruto's heart. N-Naruto was dead and Sasuke had escaped by the time I got down the cliff walls. I-I'm sorry I didn't go after Sasuke, Hokage-sama. I felt that bringing Naruto home was more important."

"I-it's alright Kakashi." Tsunade replied, taking the blonde from Kakashi's arms. She allowed a few tears to fall onto his face. "Naruto…"

"Haha! The demon is dead!" A random villager cheered.

Sakura stood up suddenly, her hair shadowing her eyes. She appeared in front of the villager and slammed the sole of her sandal into the man's crotch. A sickening crunch was heard as he cried out with searing pain. It was quite obvious to anyone that his pelvis was broken as well as his reproductive organs. He fell to the ground, twitching.

She raised her head. The villagers were shocked at the massive amount killer intent she was radiating. They were also frightened by her eyes. Her eyes held fury, bloodlust, sadness and most of all, confusion.

"How could you!? He tried to bring back Sasuke-kun for us, and this is how you repay him!? Cheer when he's dead!?" She cried. Tears continued to flow from her green orbs. "What is wrong with you!?"

No one in the group dared to answer.

"_Huh_!?" Sakura shouted, her eyes glowing with anger. Again, she heard no response. The pink-haired girl sobbed as she ran back towards the village. The crowd parted for her, mostly because of fear, not sympathy.

* * *

"Naruto was a good comrade, a good teammate… a good friend." Sakura said as she read her notes in front of a small group of people in the cemetery. "Sure he was goofy and acted like an idiot at times, but he had his good traits. He was gentle, caring, and would do anything to make his friends happy. If you can hear me out there Naruto, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for berating you and rejecting you so much. In truth, it was your unrelenting love for me that kept me going in the terrible world of shinobi, not my love for Sasuke. It was your constant encouragements that helped me live and grow. So with my sorry, I will also say… Thank you, Naruto."

The small group clapped. Tsunade walked up to the podium where Sakura gave her speech. The pink-haired girl wiped her eyes with a handkerchief as she sat back down in the row of seats.

The Hokage looked out at the group, cursing at the number of people who showed up. There was the Konoha 11, their senseis, Jiraiya, Iruka, interestingly Anko, Konohamaru and his friends, Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame, and a few other villagers who acknowledged the young blonde. There were only thirty people at most.

"And now we commend our beloved friend to a new and peaceful life on another plane." Tsunade said. She clasped her hands together and prayed to Kami that Naruto would finally find the peace and pleasure he deserved. The others prayed along with her, each wishing Naruto a good afterlife.

* * *

A pair of cerulean eyes opened to see white. White ceiling, white floor, white walls, white furniture, and white bed.

"Where am I?" The blonde groaned. _'I must be at the hospital. That's the only place that seems to like making everything painfully white…'_

The white door opened and a young woman about a year older than Naruto walked in. She wore a purple kimono that had sakura petal designs on them and old-style wooden sandals.

"Oh, you're awake?" The girl asked, surprised. Her voice was light and airy. It made Naruto's heart practically bubble up with joy. She also seemed to have an ethereal echo as she spoke, but the blonde didn't seem to notice. Naruto was too busy gawking at her beauty.

The girl had long flowing lavender-colored hair that stopped at the curve of her back. A pair of star-shaped hairclips held her hair behind her ears. She also had a darker shade of lavender as the color of her eyes. Her nose was perfect; her eyelashes were perfect; her lips were perfect… Everything about her face was perfect in Naruto's eyes.

The blonde chanced looking at her body, and he wasn't disappointed. Her body was slim, but had curves in all the right places. Naruto also noticed through her kimono that she was well-built, meaning she could probably fight. And fight _well_. He couldn't help but admire her shapely hips and her perfect C-cup bre-

Naruto blushed and shook his head to rid of the thoughts. _'N-no, bad Naruto, bad Naruto! Baka Ero-sennin! He's rubbing off on me with his perverted ways!'_

"Are you ok?" The girl asked him with a worrying look.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, dattebayo!" Naruto said sheepishly, sitting up. The girl smiled, making Naruto blush even more.

"That's good. I'm Sendatsu Hibana by the way." Hibana introduced herself.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage!" Naruto said with a small grin. Then he looked at her in slight confusion. "Ne, Hibana-chan, where am I?"

Hibana's cheeks tinged pink at his sudden affection suffix to her name. "You're in my house on Shinkai."

Naruto's grin slowly faded and was replaced by a look of sheer horror. "EEEEEHHHH!!"

* * *

The blonde sat in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth in a fetal position.

"I'm dead… I'm dead… I'm dead…" He mumbled over and over again. Hibana looked down at him. She could feel a bead of sweat going down the back of her head.

"Come on Naruto." Hibana said, trying to calm him down. "We need to go see my father for dinner."

"I'm dead… I'm dead…" Naruto kept chanting.

Hibana sighed. Then she put her hand on her chin and took up a thinking pose. _'Hm… I recall father telling me to mention ramen if he freaks out…'_

She turned to the orange and yellow ball in the corner with a slight smirk. "Well I guess if you don't want dinner, that's too bad. We were having ramen too…"

Naruto's head slowly and creepily turned to look at her. Hibana swore she had heard the sound of a door creaking. The blonde had stars in his blue orbs. They stared at her with such intensity, the lavender-haired girl couldn't help but blush. Naruto grinned widely.

"RAMEN!!" He shouted.

The blonde grabbed her hand, ignoring her further deepening blush, and ran out of the room and down the hallway. Unfortunately, the ramen-lover overlooked one important part at the end of the hallway… Stairs.

* * *

A woman that looked like an older version of Hibana sat at the white table with her husband. She looked around the white kitchen of their pure white house. "Where's Hi-chan?"

Her husband, a big, rugged-looking man with piercing green eyes shrugged. "I think she went to check on the kid."

Hibana's mother nodded in understanding. Then they jumped when they heard a really loud shout of 'RAMEN!' came from upstairs.

"What's going on up there?" The man asked. Suddenly two figures tumbled down the stairs, one screaming and the other shouting of 'ramen'. They stopped when they reached the bottom. The two parents quickly rushed over to them.

Upon seeing their position, Hibana's father snickered then erupted into full blown laughter. His wife giggled as well. Naruto was on his back, clutching Hibana's head tightly to his chest. Hibana was in turn hugging him just as tight. They looked up at the large man and blushed.

* * *

Naruto gave a contented burp as he finished his fiftieth bowl of ramen. "Sumimasen."

The other three at the table stared in a combination of disgust and fascination. How in the hell had he eaten fifty bowls of ramen in only fifteen minutes? Hibana's father shook his head to rid himself of the shock.

"Naruto." The man addressed the blonde. Naruto looked at him and listened. "I think I should begin explaining to why you're here."

At the blonde's nod, he began.

"Let me start with my identity. I am Kami, the King of Shinkai." Kami said. Suddenly his dark, slightly graying hair turned a bright silver and his eyes glowed until his irises and pupils weren't visible. "I have watched you Naruto. Ever since you were born, I had destined you for greatness. But then you had changed your destiny with one simple act. Do you know what that act is?"

Naruto nodded solemnly. "I-instead of going for Sasuke's chest during our fight in the Valley of the End, I went to scratch his hitai-ate."

"Correct." Kami said. "Because of that tiny decision, your 'best friend' was able to stab you through your heart."

"But if I _did_ go for Sasuke's chest… I might've hurt him badly." The blonde replied, suddenly finding his feet very interesting. "I will never hurt any of my friends badly, even if I die."

Kami sighed. "Regardless, you have died and will now live up here in Shinkai. Your good heart has earned you a place by my side."

"That's good and all but…" Naruto said, his voice breaking down. A few tears fell onto his feet and the floor. "I've failed to live up to my nindo. I promised to bring Sasuke back. I promised to become Hokage, but… Now I can't live up to those promises. I'm sorry, but I don't deserve to live here in Shinkai. I would rather go to the Yoma instead. Even Makai is better than this…"

Hibana had enough. She stood up, walked over to the blonde, and slapped him. Naruto looked up at her, hand on his stinging cheek. He was shocked to see her crying as well.

"Baka!" She shouted. The girl embraced him, increasing his confusion. "Why do you refuse such an offer?"

"Because…" Naruto shut his eyes as the tears began to sting. "Because I cannot enjoy myself when knowing my friends back there are suffering! I can't die with such pleasantries knowing that I cause them emotional pain!"

Kami sighed. "Well I guess there's no other choice."

"You're sending him to Yoma?" Hibana asked her father. She held Naruto tighter, as if not wanting to let go of him.

"No." He said with an expressionless face.

At that point, she snapped. "You're sending him to Makai! Father, you of all people should know that he never did and never will deserve the torture they will give Naruto if you send him there!"

The King of Shinkai grinned as if he had just played the greatest prank of all time. "I never said that…"

His wife looked at his with a quizzical look. "Then what do you mean?"

Naruto looked at Kami, waiting for an explanation. The man's hair and eyes turned back to their normal colors as he continued grinning.

"I'll just have to resurrect Naruto." Kami said, reaching over to ruffle the blonde's hair. "And not only that, I'll bestow upon you the power of Shinkai's inhabitants to help you complete you promises."

"What do you mean, Kami-sama?" Naruto asked.

Hibana looked at him with a smile. "He means he's making you an half-angel."

"A-are you serious?" Naruto asked her. At her nod, he cheered. "YATTA!"

Suddenly the doorbell rung.

"Who would interrupt a touching moment like this?" Kami asked before walking over to the door. As soon as he opened it, he grinned widely. "Aniki!"

Another man who looked almost exactly like Kami, except dressed in red instead of white, walked into the house. He looked around and his eyes eventually landed on Naruto and the girl still embracing him. Hibana released the blonde before running over and hugging the man.

"Uncle Akuma!" She giggled. The man smiled down at her.

"Wow, Hibana-chan, you've grown! Soon you'll have angel boys flocking all around you!" The man, now known as Akuma, the Lord of Makai, said.

"So what are you doing here, Akuma-kun?" Hibana's mother asked her brother-in-law.

"Well, Hoshi-chan, I'm here because of Naruto." Akuma explained.

The blonde blanched. _'What does the Lord of Makai want with _me_!?'_

The Lord of Makai continued. "Or should I say, Naruto's tenant."

"Of course!" Kami laughed. "That damned Kyuubi was always causing trouble."

Akuma walked over to Naruto and thrust his hand into the blonde's stomach. The young man was freaked out by that act. The man in red pulled out a little orange fox by its tail. The fox began to whimper.

"Bad Kyuubi. I told you not to rampage all over the human world." Akuma scolded the fox. Kyuubi whimpered quite cutely. Naruto sweat-dropped.

'That_ is Kyuubi? That's the almighty Kyuubi no Kitsune, most powerful of the Bijuu?'_

Akuma smiled at Naruto. "Thank you for keeping my pet at bay. I would've rather sent my demonic army to look for him, but that would've just caused more trouble."

The blonde's eyebrow twitched. _'Kyuubi was his pet!?'_

"As a reward, you'll get to keep about four tails worth of Kyuubi's chakra." He finished. "So you're basically a half-demon now."

Kami pouted. "Akuma-niisan! I was going to make him a half-angel!"

"Oh I'm sorry, Kami-otouto." The older of the brothers said sheepishly. "Maybe we could try something new here."

Kami thought about it for a bit, and then grinned chilishly. Naruto could find it hard to believe this was the most powerful being in the universe.

"Oh I get it!" He shouted out, slamming his fist in to his palm.

"What do you mean?" Hoshi asked them.

"Simple really. We're going to make Naruto a third-angel, third-demon, and third-human." Akuma explained. Kami nodded with his big grin.

Naruto sat there, slack-jawed for the rest of the day.

* * *

**Translations:**

Dobe – Deadlast

Teme – Bastard

Mangekyou Sharingan – Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye

**Hakatebetsu Chidori** – One Thousand Flapping Birds

**Hateshiganai Rasengan** – Everlasting Spiraling Sphere

Ero-sennin – Perverted Hermit

Sendatsu Hibana – Guiding Spark

Sumimasen – Excuse me

Shinkai – Heaven

Yoma – Underworld

Makai – Hell

Kami – God

Akuma – Satan

Hoshi – Star

Aniki – Older Brother

-Niisan – suffix for Older Brother

-Otouto – suffix for Little Brother

**Naruto is a demon!? Naruto is an angel!? Naruto is a human!?... Well you can believe that last one, but the others!? GASP! Stay tuned!**

**Review please! Or I shall send upon you the burning legions of Makai and the shining armadas of Shinkai.**


	2. Playmate

**Notes:** Holy crap! I didn't expect this story to be such a big hit in two days! I mean, DTiC got 21 reviews on first few days, AKD got 35, but this got 38! And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go to my profile and you'll know what DTiC and such is. So I've decided to maybe spread attention to this story as well.

And the winners of the polls are… NOT TELLING! You'll have to find out yourself. And I've decided to add another person to the Harem due to a couple of requests.

* * *

**Define 'Human'**

**Chapter 1: Playmate**

Naruto yawned as he rose from his pure white bed. He rubbed his half-lidded eyes as he walked out of his room. The blonde opened the door to the house's ridiculously large bathroom. He wondered as he brushed his teeth. _'Why is the bathroom so big? I mean, the shower is as big as my entire bathroom back home! And… Why is there so much steam?'_

The bathroom was filled with steam, indicating that either angels like their bathrooms steamed in the morning, or… someone was taking a shower. Naruto began to pray for it to be the former. He heard the shower curtains open.

A naked Hibana squeaked as she noticed a blonde figure gawking at her with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. The two stood there, staring at each other for a full five seconds, their faces resembling tomatoes.

Naruto sheepishly waved his hand, toothbrush still in his mouth. Hibana waved back as her other hand slowly took a towel from the nearby rack. Naruto put the toothbrush in the sink, turned around and exited the bathroom, closing the door behind his back. The lavender-haired girl began to dry herself, her eyes never leaving the door.

On the other side, Naruto was slamming his head into the wall, trying to get the image of a naked Hibana out of his mind.

'_Bad Naruto! Bad Naruto! But her body was so perfect… I just wanna lick that… NO! BAD NARUTO! BAD NARUTO!'_ Naruto groaned as he smashed his face into the wall one last time. Then something else registered in his brain. _'… Were those wings?'_

* * *

Hoshi knew something was up as they ate breakfast. Naruto and Hibana were picking at their food with their chopsticks, occasionally glancing at each other before turning away with a light pink hue on their cheeks. Kami was too busy stuffing eggs in his mouth to notice.

Naruto tapped the god on his shoulder, earning a questioning look from him. "Ano, Kami-sama, you said you and Akuma-sama were going to make me part-angel right?"

"Yshmpphmm." Kami nodded as he continued eating. Hoshi smacked him in the head, scolding him about his manners. Hibana sighed hopelessly at her embarrassing parents.

After dinner, Kami, Hibana and Naruto walked out the door to head to the capital city.

"Have fun blessing Naruto!" Hoshi waved to them inside.

"We will kaasan!" The lavender-haired girl waved back. They walked down the endless field of white. Naruto looked around and saw nothing except for the house in the distance behind them.

"Where is everything?" He asked.

"We live away from the capital city of Shinkai." Kami said. "The hustle and bustle of its streets are too noisy."

"That's kinda weird. Aren't you Shinkai's king? Shouldn't you be living in some huge palace in the middle of the city?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That may be, Naruto, but I like a quiet and simple life. And whatever I say goes up here." The man replied. The blonde sweat-dropped.

'_The simple part I get, but why are you childishly loud?_' Naruto pulled on the sleeve of Kami's white gi. "Ne, Kami-sama, how exactly are you going to make me part-angel?"

Kami said, putting a finger on his chin. "In order to make you part-angel, we must infuse reiatsu in your body while keeping your chakra intact."

"Reiatsu?" Naruto said, furrowing his brow.

"Hai." Hibana explained. The blonde turned to her. "Reiatsu is the angel's equivalent to human chakra. It is basically the same as chakra, except the natural color of reiatsu is silver. Reiatsu is harder to mold and an angel's average reiatsu supply is half of an average human's chakra supply. But reiatsu is really powerful and our most minor of techniques are as powerful as B-rank Jutsu in the human plane."

The former Jinchuuriki nodded. "What about the demon's equivalent to chakra and reiatsu?"

"Demons use youki. An average demon's youki supply in about twice as much as an average human's chakra supply." Hibana answered. She raised her finger in a lecture-like motion. "Youki is easier to mold and many youki techniques don't require seals, but youki has a downside. Use too much at a time, and you may harm yourself. Many demons in the past have killed themselves by attempting a higher-level demon technique. Even a demon's amazing regenerative abilities can't handle the power of their youki."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks for explaining that to me, Hibana-chan! Your lectures aren't boring like Iruka-sensei's."

"A-arigatou." The lavender-haired angel said bashfully, a small blush on her cheeks. Kami smiled at their antics.

"We're almost to the city." The King of Shinkai said.

Naruto looked ahead as suddenly the view of large silver stone walls loomed over them. They were unbelievably high. Naruto pondered if he had enough chakra to run all the way to the top. The only break in the large walls was a single gate that looked big enough to pass a herd of elephants through. A pair of guards stood on either side of the gate. They bowed as they spotted Kami walking towards them.

"Praise be to Kami-sama!" The guards recited in unison. The trio stopped in front of the gates.

"You may rise." Kami said with a tone unknown to Naruto. Now the man's voice was smothered with immense regality and wisdom. It was how the blonde would've imagined Kami's voice to sound like before he came to Shinkai. The guards stood straight and opened the gates for the group.

Naruto gasped at the capital city as they walked in. It was _HUGE_! He figured that it was maybe three times the size of Konoha. He could barely make out the wall on the other side of the city. People walked about the large city, giving them kind nods and bows as they walked by.

"What do you mean that watermelon costs 50 ryo!?" A loud and rugged voice shouted out. The blonde turned towards the voice, recognizing it. There stood a man talking to a cowering merchant. Next to him was a young girl about Hibana's age, wearing a formal kimono. The man had baggy pants, no shirt, and a huge-ass sword on his back.

"Zabuza! Haku-chan!" Naruto called out as he ran towards them. Hibana and her father looked him with raised eyebrows.

The two turned around and their eyes widened as they recognized the boy.

"Naruto-kun!" Haku said as she glomped the poor blonde and hugged him tightly. Hibana narrowed her eyes slightly at the ice-controller.

"Haku-chan, I can't breathe!" Naruto chuckled. The girl let go with a huge smile on her face.

"Well, brat, I never thought I'd see you here." The former Kiri-nin smirked. "You died way too early. What happened?"

Naruto's grin softened a bit. "I'd rather not talk about it right now."

Zabuza laughed. "Well, all is well now. How's Kakashi?"

"He's fine." Naruto said.

Haku lightly tapped his shoulder. "Ne, Naruto-kun. Why are you with Kami-sama and Hibana-sama?"

"We're going to Makai! I'm going to be part-angel and demon!" Naruto answered.

"Part-angel _and_ part-demon?" Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "Kid, either you're a spirit, an angel, or a demon. Haku and I are spirits. How is becoming part of each possible?"

The blonde shrugged. "I dunno. I'm already part-demon since when Akuma-sama took Kyuubi out of me, he left four tails worth of the fox's youki inside of me. But before he left, Akuma-sama said that I haven't formed any youki coils so I can't use it yet."

Haku tilted her head in confusion. "Then shouldn't you have an item that lets you hide your tails?"

"Item?" Naruto asked her.

"A demon or angel has an item that disguises their tails or wings." Hibana explained as she walked up to them. "The item essentially _is_ their tails or wings, and can turn into a piece of clothing or jewelry at any time. All angels and demons have one. Only the most powerful of us, like tousan or Uncle Akuma, can form and hide wings or tails without an item."

Naruto looked at her with a questioning gaze. "Ne, Hibana-chan, do you have an item?"

Hibana nodded. "It's my kimono."

Her kimono's sash suddenly untied itself and her kimono seemed to flow off her body and arms. It blew behind her, still attached to her shoulder blades and in a flash of white, turned into a pair of lavender wings. She furled and unfurled them, showing off her feathery display. She had worn a white gi with holes in the back for her wings and form-fitting purple shinobi pants under her kimono.

Naruto gawked as the lavender-haired girl's beauty seemed to multiply ten-fold. Passerby's momentarily stopped to stare at her as well.

Zabuza whistled. "Damn kid, you scored a good catch. And Kami's daughter, too. Too bad Haku couldn't get to you first."

All three teens blushed deeply. "Zabuza-sama/Zabuza/Zabuza-san!"

Kami chuckled. "Well, Zabuza-san, we must take our leave."

Hibana nodded and as quickly as her kimono turned into wings, they changed back. Naruto waved as they walked away.

"See you later Zabuza, Haku-chan!"

Haku waved back with small smile.

"Haku, you need to get some guts and chase after him." The eyebrow-less man deadpanned. "I can't babysit you forever. You need a man in your life."

The brunette closed her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about Zabuza-sama."

The kubikiri-wielding man laughed.

* * *

"Hey, Hibana-chan, why don't I have tails?" Naruto asked the angel. "Since I'm part demon, shouldn't I have them?"

"I have no idea Naruto." She answered. "Maybe tousan can tell us."

They both looked up at the god. He sighed. "I have no idea myself, although I have a sneaking suspicion. I'll tell you about it once we reach Aniki's mansion."

"Mansion?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing in confusion. Hibana giggled.

'_He looks cute like that… What am I thinking!?'_

Kami nodded. "Although I prefer the simple life, Akuma-niisan likes to bathe in luxury. There's a portal here to Makai that will transport us directly outside his home."

Naruto nodded. They stopped right outside a bar (**A/N: Angels need to drink too**). The bar was plain, not having anything that would attract attention.

"Here we are." Kami said as he entered the bar. Hibana and Naruto followed after him.

The blonde looked around. A couple people were drinking on the stools, paying them no mind. The bartender looked at them and gave a nod. Kami smiled as he walked to the other end of the bar. There a painting of the inside of a red cavern was hanging. In the giant red cavern was a large mansion painted in red and black. The King of Shinkai put his hand on the painting. It suddenly started to shimmer and his hand went through. Kami calmly walked into the painting. Hibana followed short after.

The blonde shinobi stared at the painting with shock. He gingerly touched the painting. It felt… tingly. He couldn't find any other word to describe it. Naruto took a step back and ran towards the painting, closing his eyes as he went through. He opened his eyes to find Kami and Hibana talking to Akuma. Behind them was the mansion in the painting. It looked even larger in person.

Naruto gasped. "Wow."

He walked towards them.

Akuma turned to Naruto. "Ah, Naruto-kun! Come inside with us. I will hold your chakra coils intact with my youki while otouto here infuses you with reiatsu."

The blonde nodded as they entered the estate. He found himself in a living room the size of an entire floor in his apartment complex. A set of stairs was on the other end of the room, curving against the walls and leading up to the second floor. The furniture was all moved against the walls and a large seal was placed in the middle of the floor.

"Stand in the seal, Naruto-kun. We shall start immediately." Akuma motioned to Naruto. The blonde complied and stood in the middle of the seal. Under his short time studying under Jiraiya, Naruto had learned a little about seals. He could tell this seal under him was almost as complex as the Shiki Fuujin. The seal under him was a connection of storage seals, chakra seals, pain-reducing seals, and a vast array of other kinds that he didn't know of.

"Please expose your back Naruto." Kami said as he stood behind the blonde. The former Jinchuuriki nodded as he took off his orange jacket and black shirt. Hibana blushed at the rippling muscles that lined his body. The god put his hands on Naruto's shoulder blades. "Now brace yourself. This will hurt."

Akuma put his hands on the edge of the seal. "**Onijutsu: Youki Senjigusuri!**"

Kami grunted as he poured reiatsu into Naruto's back. "**Tenshijutsu: Reiatsu Megumi!**"

A feminine figure stood atop the stairs, watching as the blonde boy cried out in pain. She smirked and licked her lips.

* * *

Ayame sighed as she juggled several bags of supplies for the stand. Ichiraku Ramen has been boring without a certain blonde around. Their business had actually grown because since the 'demon brat' was gone, people began to come back to the stand. It deeply saddened the Ayame and her father that they were actually prospering because of Naruto's death.

The brunette growled. _'Those idiots. They couldn't see a hero right in front of them.'_

She looked up at the sky, wondering if Naruto had gotten what he had deserved for a long time.

* * *

Naruto coughed as he fell flat on his face. A new pair of white wings fluttered behind him. A crimson fox tail swayed as the blonde struggled to put himself in a position where he could breathe.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun, you're officially the first third-angel, third-demon, and soon-to-be third-human." Akuma panted. The two brothers smiled at him in unison. He muttered a small 'arigatou' before passing out.

Hibana's kimono slipped off of her and turned in to wings as walked over to him and put his arm around her shoulders. She stood up, letting Naruto lean on her.

"I'll take him to a room." She said before flapping her wings and flying up to the second floor.

Akuma grinned up at them. He looked at the other figure that was walking down the stairs.

"Tousan, can I help Hiba-chan take care of the boy?" She asked.

"Sure thing, Ran-chan." He answered.

Kouken Ran smiled.

* * *

Naruto, still half unconscious slightly opened his eyes to find a lavender-eyed face staring down at him worryingly.

"Kirei…" He whispered.

Hibana blushed. She had barely heard what he said, but she still heard it. No one had ever called her that. Sure, they'd compliment on her pretty face and her great body, but not one spirit, angel, or demon had ever said _that_.

The blonde's eyes snapped open. He looked at the lavender-haired girl, raising an eyebrow at the blush.

"Hibana-chan, how did the infusion go?" He asked as he sat up.

She smiled and pointed at his wings and tail. "Look for yourself."

The former Jinchuuriki turned his head. He rubbed his wing and felt the softness of them. He was also shocked to see that he could feel his hand with his wing as well.

"Cool." The blonde simply said. Hibana giggled.

"Hiba-chan!" A loud female voice shouted from behind the red door. The lavender-haired girl's eyes sparkled with joy.

"Ran-chan!" She shouted back as another female burst through the doors. The two hugged each other and laughed. When they separated, the new person looked curiously at the young blonde.

"So you're Naruto?" The girl, Ran, asked him. The blonde nodded dumbly, but he was too busy staring at her body.

She was every bit as beautiful as Hibana, but in a different way. Her face held a slightly animalistic and wild look while the angel had a calm and serene impression. She had straight, navy-blue hair that flowed down her back and ended at the curve of her. She had a lock of her hair tied up in a miniature pigtail that fell over the front of her face, similar to Ino's hair. Ran's eyes were a shade of dark green. The blue-haired girl wore a black scarf with the end of it going inside the back her black shinobi pants that showed off her hips. She wore a crimson tank top that showed her midriff and had a v-shaped neckline that exposed quite a bit of cleavage. To finish off the picture, she had a pair of black fingerless leather gloves.

Ran bent over to get a better look of the blonde. This in turn gave Naruto a better look of her almost D-cup _assets_. He blushed as he turned away. Ran smirked. She stood straight up, which was a couple of inches taller than Hibana, and stuck her hand out to the blonde.

"I'm Kouken Ran, Hiba-chan's cousin and daughter of Akuma, Lord of Makai."

Naruto subdued his blush enough to look at her with a smile. He took her hand and shook it. The blonde knew that the blue-haired girl had bent over on purpose, letting him look down her shirt. Training under perverted senseis gave him a sense to when someone did something perverted on purpose or not.

'_Time for some payback.'_ Naruto thought with an evil chuckle in his head._ 'Reading those perverted books of Ero-sennin's paid off!'_

He stood up, still holding her hand. The blonde quickly pulled Ran over to him, put his foot behind hers, and then pushed her, making her trip backwards. At the same time Naruto slid his other arm under her to catch the fall. He put his face close to hers and gave her one of his patented foxy grins.

Ran was shocked. For the first time in many, many years, she blushed.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, next Hokage." The former Jinchuuriki said with a slightly seductive tone in his voice.

Hibana was blushing at the mere smoothness that Naruto moved and spoke in. Inside, she was deeply jealous Naruto hadn't done that to her when she first met him. Ran laid in Naruto's arms, her eyes wide open and pink on her cheeks. Then she smirked.

'_Looks like I got a new playmate.'_

* * *

**Translations:**

-Sama – Suffix for someone of nobility and higher stature

Kaasan – Mother

Tousan – Father

Kubikiri – Neck Blade

**Onijutsu: Youki Senjigusuri** – Demonic Arts: Youki Infusion

**Tenshijutsu: Reiatsu Megumi **– Angelic Arts: Reiatsu Blessing

Kouken Ran – Guardian Orchid

**JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA! Review please! Or else I'll throw boulders at you.**


	3. No Lives Wasted

Hey peoples. Sorry for the slight hiatus. I was on a two week cross-country vacation and started school just as I got back. So in short, I was busy.

Notes:

* * *

**Define 'Human'**

**Chapter 2: No Lives Wasted**

Naruto yawned as he walked down the large spiral staircase that led to the family room of Akuma's mansion. It had been two years. Two years since Sasuke had killed him. Two years since he first met Hibana, Ran, and their fathers, the two most powerful beings in the universe. Two years since he became part angel and demon. Two years since he started training to hone his skills and abilities in order to control the two new sets of energy coils that inhabited his body.

A lot had changed between those two years. Hibana and Ran still looked the same due to angels' and demons' much longer life expectancy, but Naruto's body was still accustomed to growing at an average human's rate. He had easily grown a foot. The blonde now stood at a towering six feet and four inches. His height wasn't the only thing that changed as well. The blonde had grown muscles all over his tanned body. He was totally _ripped_, although it wasn't to the point where he looked like a wall of rock-hard flesh. His face had lost a lot of its baby fat, although not all. This let Naruto retain a mature, yet boyish visage. His hair was in the same short, spiky style two years ago, albeit them being an inch longer.

He wore a mesh undershirt like that of a certain lazy Nara's, black shinobi pants and black shinobi sandals. White bandages covered the bottom half of his shins and forearms. Naruto also had a pair of black fingerless gloves that had a white spiral on the backs of the hands. This was his normal outfit, not including the items his angelic and demonic traits were hidden in.

And speaking of items, Naruto had twice as many items as Hibana and Ran due to the fact that he had twice as much to hide. So his wings had become a white trench coat with red flame designs licking the bottoms, and a red stripe going down the middle and down the sleeves. On his back was the Uzumaki spiral, the kanji for 'Vow' engraved in it with golden thread. Naruto's tail had become a thin red sash that wrapped around his waist. It could be also used as a place to hold a scabbard or sheath for a sword. The halo and demonic ears had each become an earring on each of Naruto's ears. The halo hid in a diamond earring on his right ear while the ears hid in an onyx earring in his left. Naruto left his hitai-ate, now with black cloth, around his neck and a pair of goggles adorned his forehead. These goggles were very similar to the ones he used to own, except the frame was black and the lens were clear.

The young blonde had been alternating between living in Akuma's mansion in Makai and Kami's house in Shinkai. During his time in the two realms, he trained with his reiatsu and youki. He found them surprisingly similar to chakra, yet different at the same time. The former Jinchuuriki also met with Haku and Zabuza several times and shared what had happened since that time in Nami no Kuni.

Naruto had learned that they were spirits who had done enough good deeds to be able to travel between Yoma and Shinkai. Spirits did not have any energy coils. The dead had no use for them. When Naruto asked Hibana why he, angels, and demons had energy coils, she had answered him bluntly. Angels and demons were not dead. They were very much alive. In order for a human to become an angel or demon, they had to die, become spirits, and either Kami or Akuma would transform them into angels or demons.

Ran waited near the door, tapping her foot impatiently. Today was the day. Naruto was to be brought back to the human world. Although she was happy her second closest friend would finally get the second chance to accomplish his dreams, she was sad. Demons usually weren't allowed in the human world. Just take Kyuubi as an example. Kyuubi was only one demon, yet it caused so much panic and destruction. '_Well…'_ Ran thought. '_I guess that has to do with the fact that Kyuubi is just as old as Tousan and is stronger than most of the entire demon race combined… Yeah.'_

The navy blue-haired demoness smirked as she reminisced of some more _colorful_ memories that included her blonde friend.

* * *

**Furashubakku no Jutsu!**

_Naruto sighed in pleasure as he exited the bathroom, clad in only a towel. He shook his wings and tail to dry them and walked towards his room in Akuma's mansion, whistling a cheery tune. He rounded a corner to find his face suddenly smothered by two soft mounds. Ran looked down at the tufts of blonde hair sticking out from between her breasts and raised an eyebrow. Naruto suddenly jerked back with a loud yelp._

"_BWAH!" He blushed as he realized who the owners of the mounds were. "R-R-Ran-chan!"_

_Ran smirked as she eyed him like a piece of meat. "Maa, Naruto-kun. I didn't know you felt that way."_

_Naruto shook his head so fast, his neck popped. "N-n-no! It was an accident! I swear, dattebayo! I don't feel that way about you, Ran-chan!"_

_Ran mentally grinned. She found it ridiculously entertaining to flirt with the blonde, making him trip over himself. Of course occasionally, he would flirt back and leave her with her jaw open and blushing, but that jut made it all the more fun. The green-eyed girl decided it was time to try something different._

"_Oh…" Ran looked down, her bangs covering her dark-green eyes. "So Naruto-kun doesn't like me…"_

_The blonde slapped his forehead so hard, he left a red mark the shape of his hand. _'Why must everything be so damned complicated when it involves girls!?'_ Naruto thought. He sighed in exasperation._

_The young shinobi angel… demon… whatever… walked up to her and did something he would've never expected. He (rather awkwardly) wrapped his arms around her and held her tight._

_He grinned foxily. "Don't cry Ran-chan. You're making me look like a bad guy."_

_Ran looked up, shocked. She had planned the downcast act as a joke; to try and make Naruto freak out. She didn't think Naruto would actually try to make her feel better. The young demoness blinked a few times before slowly moving her arms so that they rested on Naruto's back. She smiled and hugged him back._

_Naruto mentally let out a breath of relief as he patted her back. "You feel better?"_

"_Yeah…" Ran closed her eyes. "I'm feeling better Naruto-kun."_

_The blonde chuckled. "That's good. Well, I better go get changed. I'm gonna learn some advanced Youki molding today!"_

_The two let go of each other. Naruto continued whistling as he walked past Ran, towards his room. Then he noticed that it was breezier than normal. The blonde looked down to find that his towel was gone. He immediately wrapped his wings and tail around himself as a makeshift cover and turned around. The blonde found Ran smirking at him, his towel in her hand._

_The navy blue-haired demoness brought her hand to her mouth and blew him a kiss. She winked and dropped the towel. "See you later, Naruto-kun."_

_The former Jinchuuriki blushed heavily as the girl rounded the corner he came from and walked away. He growled as his face grew even redder. He took his towel and retreated to his room, rambling about 'stupid flirts' all the way._

**Furashubakku no Jutsu, Kai!**

* * *

Naruto waved as he neared her. "Ohayou Ran-chan!"

"Ohayou." She waved back.

The blonde smiled. "Today's the day! You excited Ran-chan!?"

"Yup!" Ran nodded. Then she winked. "Just remember all of my lessons and you'll be fine."

"I've memorized all of the youki hand-seals, Ran-chan! Besides, there are only two seals that aren't already in the chakra hand-seal arsenal." Naruto said with a confident grin. The navy blue-haired girl smirked as she walked behind Naruto and draped her arms over her shoulders.

"That's not exactly what I meant… Na-ru-to-kun." She purred into his ear. "I meant those lessons regarding reproduction…"

The blonde shinobi blushed heavily. "I won't forget _those_ lessons either."

Ran grinned. "Good! Now hurry up. We have to go to Shinkai. Tousan already left."

"Hai!"

* * *

Hibana smiled as she spotted her two best friends in the crowd. She waved her hands high in the air to get them to notice her. Haku waved beside her. Naruto and Ran waved back and ran up to them.

"Ohayou Naruto-kun!" Haku exclaimed as the two came near. "Ohayou Ran."

"Ohayou Haku-chan, Hibana-chan!" Naruto grinned. "So let's go?"

Hibana nodded. "Hai! Uncle Akuma and Father are already setting up the portal. Let's hurry!"

* * *

Just outside of Kami's humble abode, the four teens and Zabuza watched as the respective kings of Shinkai and Makai painted a large seal on the pure white ground Naruto had become accustomed to in heaven. The seal was large and complicated. It was easily a hundred times more sophisticated than the seal that was once on the blonde's stomach. Naruto wasn't exaggerating either. The seal had so many curves, lines, and symbols, just looking at it made your brain stagger with an overload of information.

Zabuza walked up to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder. "You sure you wanna go back, kid?"

The young blonde nodded. "I need to. When I have kept all of the promises I have made, I shall come back."

The kubikiri-wielding man nodded silently. "Just make sure to remember those Suiton jutsu I taught you."

Naruto grinned. "I will."

Kami and Akuma stood up and looked at their finished work. The seal was breathtakingly complex. The king of Shinkai turned to Naruto. His green eyes glowed that brilliant white and his hair became a shining silver. His gi opened and blew off his torso as if controlled by some invisible force. The gi flapped around before turning into a pair of dazzling golden wings.

"It is time Naruto, for you to return to your realm to fulfill your promises." Kami said in his 'royal tone', as Naruto had dubbed it.

Akuma's own crimson eyes began to emanate a dark mist that covered the irises from view. His gi fell from his body, attached to his lower back instead and became a triangle-tipped devil tail. His horns and ears grew a tad longer as his tail thickened and began to whip around.

"We will need a significant amount of reiatsu and youki to finish the process, so we had to reveal our 'traits', which as you know hold half of an angel's or demon's power." The Makai lord explained, a dark echo shadowing his already deep voice. "Step into the middle of the seal, Naruto-kun."

"Hai." Naruto agreed. He turned to his three female friends. "Well… I guess this will be the last time we'll see each other in a _long_ while."

Haku nodded, her eyes watering. "I understand Naruto-kun. I'm just happy I got the chance to see you again."

The former ice-controlling kunoichi spirit walked up to Naruto and gently embraced him, much to his blushing chagrin. She rubbed her cheek against his chest (he was _way_ taller than her now). Haku reluctantly let go as she felt a nudge of killing intent from one of the other girls. She wasn't sure who sent that killing intent though…

Ran smirked as she held a hand out to Naruto. "So we'll see you later, right Naruto-kun?"

"Right, Ran-chan." Naruto said with a little smirk of his own. He took her hand and shook it. "By the way… I haven't done _this_ in a long time."

The blonde once again pulled the demoness over to him and tipped her. He brought his face close to hers again and stared deep into the navy blue-haired girl's eyes. A light pink hue appeared on both of their cheeks.

"This seems familiar." Ran giggled. She unexpectedly gave the blonde a peck on his nose. "Except we're saying goodbye except for hello."

Naruto blushed a bit deeper as he let Ran stand straight up. He turned to the last-but-not-least, Hibana. The lavender-haired angel smiled sadly at him.

"I hope you finish fulfilling your dreams soon." Hibana smiled softly. "So you can come back…"

He grinned his patented 'foxy grin'. "I will Hibana-chan! For you, Ran-chan and Haku-chan's sake, I'll come back as soon as possible, 'tebayo!"

Hibana bit her lip nervously as she approached the blonde. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, much like he did to her after the 'stairs incident'. Naruto rested his hands on the curve of her back and let her hold him. What he didn't know however was that a thread from his mesh undershirt got caught on one of Hibana's star-shaped hairclips. The two separated, still unknowing of the little thread.

The other two female teens took each of Hibana's hands and watched as their other friend prepared to become something totally new.

Naruto walked to the middle of the seal and concentrated his chakra, reiatsu and youki. He held them in check; one single spike of any of the energies into the seal below him and… KABLOOWEY! Half of Shinkai will be gone, Kami and Akuma, set their hands on the seal's edges as it glowed an ominous blood red.

"**Tenshi/Onijutsu: Koukudo Joutou!**" The two kings shouted out, their respective energies flowing into the seal, tracing its lines to the very point. Naruto held his breath as he felt a light tingly feeling in his chest. A bright light shined throughout the area. A normal human could've been easily been blinded by it. Kami and Akuma panted as their wings and tails reverted back into the gi's they were wearing. Zabuza watched them with slight boredom in his eyes.

Kami looked around to find something peculiar. "Where's the kids?"

* * *

Iruka and Anko stood next to Naruto's grave, holding each other closely. They looked into the other's eyes, noting how bloodshot and swollen they were.

"Heh, were you crying Iruka?" The snake woman asked with a sad chuckle, a lone tear escaping her ducts.

The scar-nosed man wiped her tear off with a finger. "I wasn't the only one…"

They began to lean in close. Their lips were an inch apart when…

"OI! I come back from the dead and first thing I see is my brother figure about to make out with a psychotic snake lady!" A teenage voice sounded out.

The two adults quickly sprang apart from each other with a loud and surprised yelp. They looked down at Naruto's grave to find a huge hole in the ground. Inside the hole were four _very_ peeved and pissed teens. One of them looked familiar…

"HEY LOOK BRAT, WE CAN EXPLAIN!" Anko stammered, blushing profusely.

"FORGET THAT! HOW IN THE HELL ARE YOU ALIVE, NARUTO!?" Iruka screamed, unconsciously activating the **Kyohitsu no Jutsu**.

"Sheesh, Iruka-sensei, you've gotten louder." The blonde said with a small smile.

* * *

**Translations:**

Ohayou – Morning (as in 'Good morning')

**Furashubakku no Jutsu **– Flashback Technique

Kai – Release

**Tenshi/Onijutsu: Koukudo Joutou **– Angelic/Demonic Arts: Realm Jump

**Kyohitsu no Jutsu** – Big Head Technique

**

* * *

**

**Feel the power of this chapter's shortness! But that just means you should expect a big epic chapter next time. Review please! Or else I will poke my own eyes out and I will not be able to write anymore. MWUAHAHAHA! I'm **_**so**_** evil.**


	4. Deli Meat

**Notes: **Yay! I've finally updated! Isn't this super-duper-mega-uber-bamtastically awesome? No? Asking why I haven't updated for a good three or so months? I could give some lame excuse like my whole family died of whipped cream overdose or something like that, but I wouldn't because I love you guys! To all my readers, I love you! I don't care if you're male, female (preferred), white, black, yellow, red, gay, straight, or bi. I love you all! Unless you hate pie… Then I feel nothing but utter remorse.

-

**Define Human**

**Chapter 3: Deli Meat**

Ayame's eyes refused to blink. They would not close, no matter how much they hurt from dryness. She could not believe it. Her mind was in lockdown as she read the letter one of her friends sent her. Something that had long gone some time ago had come back, apparently. That 'something' turns out to be very, very important to Ayame. The ramen girl thought she would never receive the chance to see it again. She had thought it left her that one fateful night two years ago…

The store, Vikkutoriya no Himitsu, was having a 50 percent off on designer bras! The brunette shrieked with joy as she ran straight to the establishment, purse in hand.

-

Iruka, Anko and the three unknown girls watched as Naruto consumed over thirty cups of instant ramen. All four females were disgusted. Disgusted to a point beyond mention. The blonde teen's ravenous appetite was something one expected to find in the interrogation room of Konoha's torture division rather than in Iruka's kitchen.

The scarred teacher, however, was completely calm. He had seen this plenty of times before and was used to it. He sighed as he looked into his empty wallet. Iruka swore he saw his wallet come to life and cough from dehydration. His eyebrow twitched. He had literally bought the grocery store _dry_ of ramen-based foods.

'_I knew I'd have to dig into my ANBU duty savings soon with Naruto around…'_ The thought stopped as a new one took its place. Iruka tapped the ramen-addict on the shoulder. Naruto looked up at him, pausing momentarily from eating.

"Naruto, now will you explain to us how exactly you're alive?" He asked politely.

The blonde swallowed the noodles in his mouth before scowling. "Only if you tell me why you and the psycho-lady were getting freaky in a cemetery."

Anko chuckled sheepishly as Iruka blushed redder than a spanked Hannah Montana.

'_Who's Hannah Montana?'_ Iruka shook his head of the random thought and sighed in frustration. He gave Naruto a glare. "T-that's not important!"

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought. "I would've never thought Iruka-sensei had a fetish for snakes and fantasies of necrophilia."

The teacher smashed his fist onto the top of his former student's head. "SHUT UP AND ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"Itai!" The blonde yelled in pain. He pouted as he rubbed his head. "Fine, fine, but you might not believe me."

Iruka gave him a blank stare. "Naruto, you know that I hold the upmost trust in you. You can tell me anything, no matter how absurd and I will go with your word."

Naruto nodded. "Of course Iruka-sensei. Well… Kami-sama and Akuma-sama, who are actually brothers, thought it wasn't my time to die yet and decided to make me third-demon, third-angel and third-human so that I could fulfill my promises. Then I spent the next two years training with my new energy sources. But when they were trying to send me back to the human plane, something messed up and those three…"

He pointed briefly at the three girls. "… came with me. They are Hibana-chan, Ran-chan and Haku-chan. Hibana-chan is the one with lavender hair and eyes. She's an angel and is Kami-sama's daughter. Ran-chan is the one with green eyes and navy blue hair. She's a demon and is Akuma-sama's daughter. Haku-chan is the brunette in a formal kimono. She used to be a Kiri nuke-nin but is now a spirit. They're my friends."

Anko scoffed. "Iruka-kun, you can't possibly believe that load of shit."

The man looked at her with an even stare before looking at his little brother, who wasn't so little anymore. He put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I believe you, Naruto-otouto."

The purple-haired snake woman gasped. "You can't be serious! Kami and Akuma being brothers!? Half-angel/demon/human!? That's too unreal to be true!"

"Nothing is too unreal for my little brother." Iruka smiled at her before grabbing Naruto in a quick headlock. He began to relentlessly noogie him into submission.

"Ack! Stop that, Iruka-sensei! It's annoying!" Naruto said through laughs. Anko smiled at the scene playing out in front of her, even though she was peeved the chuunin had picked Naruto's words over her. Hibana found it quite cute that Naruto was getting teased like this. Ran and Haku also thought it was nice that Naruto had someone who cared for him.

Iruka and Naruto had wide toothy grins on each of their faces.

"So Iruka-sensei, what _were _you and Anko-san doing in the cemetery?"

One of the grins disappeared.

-

Shizune whistled as she signed papers on her desk. Who knew being the secretary of a Hokage was so much work as well? But she grew used to it, unlike her gambling-obsessed sensei. The medic-nin heard the door to the office open and close. She looked up to see who came in. Her pen clattered on the floor.

A young man waved cheerily to her. He was standing with Iruka, Anko and three other people she didn't know. She studied the man's every feature. Blonde hair, tanned skin, cerulean blue eyes, three whisker marks on each cheek… _'Yup. Either I'm hallucinating or Naruto's back from the dead.'_

"What's up Shizune-neechan!? Long time no see!" The supposed-Naruto exclaimed, a familiar foxy-grin on his face.

'_It can't be…'_ In an instant, the medic-nin was upon the group of people, pointing at Naruto's chest. _'Only one way to be sure.'_

"What are you doing neechan?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion. The others were confused as well. The dark-haired kunoichi moved her finger forward and poked a seemingly random spot on the blonde's chest. Naruto immediately broke into a fit of giggles.

"That tickled, dattebayo!" Naruto was promptly tackled by his big sister figure. Iruka's eyebrow went up.

'_I thought only _I _knew Naruto's secret ticklish spot.'_ He thought. Shizune and Naruto caught up as the blonde explained his return from the dead. The Hokage aspirer asked his neechan if he could see Tsunade. Shizune nodded and led them to the Hokage's office, where she knocked on the door.

There was no answer. The black-haired medic knocked louder. The Konoha-nin exchanged knowing looks. Hibana, Ran and Haku were still confused. Shizune opened the door and they all entered the room.

Tsunade slept quietly as her head was buried in a mountain of paperwork. Seven people watched her with sweat drops going down their heads.

Shizune's eye twitched. "Tsunade-sensei…"

Naruto sighed. "I see baachan hasn't changed."

Everyone except the blonde ducked as a table flew through the room. It slammed Naruto into the wall. His rear end was stuck in a hole in the wall.

"NO ONE CALLS ME THAT EXCEPT…!" Tsunade roared. She paused as she looked at the young man. "… Naruto?"

Naruto groaned from the pain. "Dammit baachan. How will I become Hokage if you break all my bones?"

"Is that really you?" The Godaime asked quietly. From his spot on the wall, Naruto grinned.

"In the flesh!" He shouted. Suddenly he felt something poke his butt from the other side of the wall. The door opened. Unfortunately, Naruto was right next to the doorway and the door hit his face with a loud smack.

"Tsunade-sensei! There's a white thing poking out from the wall outside you office." An unknowing Sakura said urgently. "It felt warm and soft, like human flesh. I think you should check it out."

She noticed two other people she knew, two people she didn't know and one person who she was damned sure was dead. Sakura stared at Haku. The ice manipulator smiled sheepishly and waved.

"How are you Sakura-san?" Haku asked.

Sakura blinked. "I'm fine… How are you Haku-san?"

"I'm good." The spirit answered. There was an awkward silence.

"Ano…"

"Yes Sakura-san?"

"HOW ARE YOU ALIVE!?"

"I could answer that." A muffled and pained voice said from behind the door. Sakura raised a pink eyebrow and closed the door, revealing a smiling Naruto. "Konnichiwa Sakura-chan."

"Naruto…?" She breathed. Her eyes were wide and her heart had stopped. "…i-is that you?"

"Like I said to baachan a few seconds ago: In the flesh!" He chuckled.

"B-but how?"

"Well…" Naruto proceeded to tell them the story he told Iruka and Anko, albeit more slightly detailed.

-

Itachi and Kisame walked silently down the halls of the Akatsuki lair. Their black cloaks barely touched the ground as they seemingly glided down the passageway. The Samehada's tip scratched the ceiling as the Kiri nuke-nin adjusted its position on his shoulders.

"Itachi." Kisame said.

"Hn." The Uchiha traitor grunted.

"What do you think we're having for lunch today?" The shark man asked. Apparently, the two Akatsuki members were on their way to the lair's cafeteria.

"Hn." Itachi answered.

"Jeez. All you do is grunt." Kisame shook his head. "Answer my question."

The bishonen man sighed. "I don't know. And I don't care as long as they have Pocky."

Kisame smiled. "I think its deli meat day. I'm up for a roast beef with mustard on wheat. How bout you?"

"… Hn."

"Itachi if you say 'hn' one more time, I swear I will burn your Icha Icha books."

"… I like ham and turkey on rye… with Pocky."

-

The rest of the Konoha Eleven were called over via messenger hawk. They were told the same story. Needless to say, they were shocked by Naruto's return and his transformation into a part-angel/demon. Hinata fainted. Shino and Neji showed a rare display of happiness. Kiba and Chouji were ecstatic. Tenten and Ino gave him a big hug, much to Hibana and Ran's chagrin. Hinata fainted again. Lee bombarded Naruto with 'Youthful challenges of youth'. Shikamaru was eyeing Ran for some reason. And Hinata fainted… again.

"Show us your youthfulness Naruto-kun! Let's spar! Our score was tied 14-14 when you left. I want to know who is more youthful: me, the Green Beast of Konoha or you, the Immortal Maelstrom!" Lee shouted, tears of happiness going down his cheeks. Hibana, Ran and Haku were trying their best to get away from the spandex-wearing shinobi without exiting the room.

Naruto chuckled. "Why not?"

-

The group traveled to Team Seven's old training field. Naruto stood on top of the pole he was tied to two years ago.

"This brings back a lot of memories." He said with a nostalgic look on his face. Sakura smiled as the memories of happy times when Team Seven was still a team came back to her mind.

"Yosh! Let's go Naruto-kun!" Lee said, jumping excitedly from one foot to the other.

The blonde waved his hand. "Calm down, Lee. No need to rush things."

Mysterious flames burned in Lee's eyes. "So hip! You truly are Kakashi's student! As Gai-sensei's student, I will redeem his youthful honor by defeating you in this spar, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto smiled. Lee got annoying sometimes, but he was glad to see his friend again. He jumped down from the pole and stretched. Tsunade ushered everyone except the two 'geniuses of hard work' into the woods surrounding the field. Hibana and Ran jumped into a tree to get a better view. Haku tried to grab a branch and swing herself up to a tree, but her hand wouldn't seem to grab hold of it. Eventually she gave up and settled from sitting at its base.

Lee got into the Goken stance: legs straight and together but poised to jump, right hand out front and open, palm facing up, left hand behind his back. Naruto assumed a stance Lee was not familiar with. He put his right foot forwards, left foot in a right angle a foot behind it, his knees bent slightly, his arms crossed in front of him, and his hands hanging limply from the arms. The stance was very relaxed but upon closer look, Naruto's muscles were slowly tensing.

In the tree, Hibana smiled. Naruto had just assumed the basic Haneken stance. The angelic book-worm recited quietly in her head. _'Haneken: Feather Fist. The Haneken style is widely regarded throughout Shinkai, Makai and Yomi for its peculiar strikes. A fighter using this style takes advantage of various feints, unpredictability and the power of a palm-strike to overpower his/her foes. The fist is never used in Haneken. Blocking is also rare. Most strikes against the Haneken are either parried or dodged, and are closely followed by a counter-strike. The most used body parts in the Haneken are the elbows, palms, knees, shins and fingers.'_

Ran gave Hibana a blank stare. "Hiba-chan, are you reciting texts in your head again?"

Hibana blushed and chuckled sheepishly. "Of course not."

Lee raised his bushy eyebrow. "I am not familiar with your stance Naruto-kun. What style are you using?"

The blonde gave a feral smile, his large canines showing. "This is one of the things I learned from Shinkai. It's called the Haneken."

The bowl-haired shinobi nodded. "Ready to begin, my youthful rival?"

"Ready as ever, Bushy-brows!" Naruto replied, using Lee's old nickname. In an instant, Lee disappeared in a green blur. The blonde followed the blur with his eyes until it got within a few feet. He jumped to the left, barely dodging a spinning roundhouse from Lee. Naruto recovered and shot forward, trying to hit Lee with a palm strike to his chest. The older shinobi used his faster speed to grab the blonde's wrist. He threw a punch at Naruto's throat.

Naruto brought his other hand and diverted the strike over his head. The hand entrapped in Lee's grip grabbed Lee's own wrist in order to keep him from escaping. Naruto knew Lee's greatest strength was his speed. If he could keep Lee from moving around, then he could end the fight much quicker.

A knee flew up and tried to hit the spandex-wearing teen in the face. Lee swung his head backwards as the knee went grazed his nose. With surprising flexibility, Naruto brought the raised leg over his head and brought the sole of his sandal onto Lee's chest. It hit him in the solar plexus and stunned him temporarily. Naruto took this moment and used it to his advantage. He uppercutted with an open hand. His palm slammed into Lee's chin, making him fly up in the air, Naruto's grip on his hand broken by the sheer force of the strike.

Lee flipped in midair and landed on his feet. He spat a little blood onto the ground before he disappeared yet again in a green blur. This time, Naruto was slow to reacting and received a foot to his stomach. Lee followed up the offensive with a low sweeping kick. Naruto jumped in time and front flipped. He tried to bring his heel down onto Lee's head, but the quicker taijutsu expert did something unexpected. He continued with his sweeping kick and when it made a complete circle, Lee brought his leg up and got Naruto in the ribs. The momentum hit Naruto like a speeding train. The blonde flew several feet away before landing roughly on his back. He grunted as he stood back up, getting back in the Haneken stance.

Lee ran forward and jumped. He spun in mid air and shouted a battle cry. "**Konoha Senpuu!**"

Naruto smiled as a foot neared his head. He clasped his hands together and formed a tiger seal. The blonde ducked under the spinning kick, slid behind the mid air shinobi and shouted out a technique of his own. "**Konoha Hiden Taijutsu no Ougi: Sennen Goroshi!**"

The audience's reaction to the following event was mixed. Sakura's eyes bugged out as she forced down the contents of her stomach from escaping. Hinata fainted from thoughts of Naruto using the technique on her. Shino and Neji showed another rare emotion of disgust. Shikamaru kept on staring at Ran for some reason. Ino and Kiba actually did puke. Tenten and Chouji gave long drawled out 'ewwwws'. Tsunade, Shizune and Iruka sighed as it became apparent of how much Kakashi influenced the blonde. Hibana was shocked that Naruto was using such a disgraceful technique. Last but not least, Ran and Anko were laughing their asses off.

Lee fell to the ground, clutching his butt in pain. "N-Naruto-kun. That was most unyouthful."

Hibana stood from her spot in the tree and began pointing at Naruto. Her face was red from embarrassment and she was shaking from anger. "How could you use such an unhealthy technique, Naruto!?"

The blonde smiled back. "Simple. I'm Konoha's Number One Most Surprising Ninja, and the next Hokage, dattebayo!"

-

Itachi grunted as he bit down on his ham and turkey on wheat. The Akatsuki cafeteria was served by Zetsu, who supplied the various meats for the deli bar. Various chairs and tables were also strewn about, forming a somewhat restaurant-like dining area. Kisame grinned toothily as he ripped into his own sandwich.

Nearby, Konan and Pein talked with each other about taking over the world and such while eating identical ham and cheeses on white. Itachi glanced at them before grunting again.

"Pein-sama." He called out, not looking away from his sandwich.

The spiky-haired Akatsuki leader turned to him. "What is it Itachi?"

"We need to resupply the Pocky vending machine." The Uchiha answered.

Pein nodded, although a slight shiver went down his spine. Refusing Itachi his Pocky was like refusing the sun its fuel. They would blow up in an explosive fury and destroy everything around them in a moment's notice.

Konan turned to an apron-wearing Zetsu, who stood next to the deli bar. "Hey Zetsu! Where'd you get this meat? It's pretty good!"

"You know that one new guy from Iwa, **the one who wanted to join us?**" Zetsu's two sides answered.

"Yeah."

"I got it from him**.**"

"So you bought it from him?"

"… **Sure let's go with that.**"

-

**Translations:**

Vikkutoriya no Himitsu – Victoria Secret (yeah you can all laugh now)

Konoha - Leaf

Itai – Ow

Kiri – Mist

Nuke-nin – Missing ninja

-Neechan – Older sister

Baachan – Old hag

Godaime – Fifth

Haneken – Feather Fist

**Konoha Senpuu **– Leaf Whirlwind

**Konoha Hiden Taijutsu no Ougi: Sennen Goroshi** – Leaf's Secret Taijutsu Technique: One Thousand Years of Pain

Iwa – Rock

-

**REVIEW! Or I will force you to watch High School Musical 3!**


	5. Extra Chapter: Hibana's Textbook

**Notes: **This is just an informational filler that explains the basic structure of Tenshijutsu.

-

**Define 'Human'**

**Extra Chapter One: Hibana's Textbook – Part One**

Hibana let out a contented sigh as she lay on her soft bed in Shinkai. The angel girl reached under her bed and took out a rather large (ONE FOOT THICK!) textbook. She hefted it with unbelievable strength and rested it on her lap.

The lavender-haired teen skimmed through random pages and wondered. "Now where did I leave off…? Ah, there we go. Basic Tenshijutsu."

-

_**Tenshijutsu**_

_Summary:__ Tenshijutsu, powered by reiatsu, can be extremely powerful. Although lacking the raw destructive ability of youki or the manipulative potential of chakra, it excels in the fact that it can be gathered in a relatively small point in order to progressively gather power. Angels and other similar beings of Shinkai have the ability to focus their reiatsu into, for example, a thin beam that can cut through objects that not even the most volatile youki can pierce. Reiatsu is also a powerful binding and regenerative catalyst. The most basic of medical Tenshijutsu can regenerate entire limbs with enough control and the more advanced have been recorded to bring mortals back from the dead. Here are some examples of common Tenshijutsu:_

_D-ranked Tenshijutsu:_

_**Teppou Rei**__ (Gunshot Ray) – Fires a thin beam of reiatsu from the point of the user's finger. The reiatsu concentration is dense enough to cut and burn shallowly into flesh, but cannot pierce leather or metal armor._

_**Sanmai no Tate**__ (Shield of Absorption) – Surrounds target part of body in a thin layer of reiatsu. This absorbs the majority of any force striking the shield, softening any blow the user takes. Jutsu requires continuous concentration in order to maintain shield. Higher-level angels have the ability to activate the shield passively and without handseals, forming a makeshift irremovable armor that can only be broken through use of a powerful piercing force._

_**Houmen Tsubasa**__ (Release Wings) – Every angel, regardless of rank, power or status, can use this technique. It does not require handseals due to the fact it is a natural occurring ability for angels to be able to summon and seal away their wings in a moment's notice. This ability does not use any reiatsu. An angel that releases their wings also receive a substantial power boost due to the sealing of reiatsu inside their Item. However, if this extra power source is used for long periods of time, the angel will start to eat away at their own reiatsu coils, which is the reason Items were created._

_C-ranked Tenshijutsu:_

_**Nenshou Rei**__ (Burning Ray) – A more powerful version of __**Bachi no Rei**__ that is fired from the palm of the hand. This Tenshijutsu can burn a large area of flesh, causing severe pain to the target. It is also able to light any flammable object easily with its more powerful heat. Exposed visual contact to this technique can also cause blindness._

_**Hikari no Kei**__ (Light Whip) – Condenses reiatsu into a thin wire-like substance that acts like a super-hot whip that can slice easily through thin metal. This technique can also be used to grapple large objects and act as a rope for swinging._

-

"Hi-chan!" Ran exclaimed with joy as she slammed the door to Hibana's room down. "Naruto-kun wants to play tag again."

Hibana looked up at her room's doorway to find a grinning Ran dragging a pouting Naruto by the back of his trench coat collar.

"No I didn't." The blonde denied.

Ran smiled a dark smile that only demons could achieve. "But _I_ want to."

Naruto couldn't suppress the shiver racing up and down his spine. "O-Ok."

Hibana sighed hopelessly at her friends' antics.

-

Kami and Hoshi were startled as several shouts and loud banging noises came from upstairs.

"HA! You're it!"

"Dammit Ran-chan, did you have to slam my head into the door!?"

"Yes, yes I did! Hi-chan, let's get away before he gets his head out of the wood!"

"_RAAAAAN!!!_"

The two adults knowingly shook their heads and continued on their business.

-

**Review please!**


	6. Ramen Galore

**Notes:** Just so you guys know, I'm not the kind of author who devotes his time to get working on a chapter immediately after he posted the previous one. I (and around ninety percent of everyone else) write a chapter whenever I feel like sitting my ass down and typing, kind of like now. And even then, the time I devote to writing and coming up with a plot is little. Hell, I don't think I'll ever come up with the whole story before I even write it. I just write the basic idea and build up on it, chapter-by-chapter. Actually, now that I think about it, pretty much most other authors do the same thing. I spend about four to seven hours total when working on a chapter. Anyways, now that I've explained (even if vaguely) why I don't update every other week or so, time to get on with the story.

-

**Define 'Human'**

**Chapter 4: Ramen Galore**

It was dark. The large cavern-like room was engulfed in an unnatural darkness, save for a small area in the middle of the room. In said area, was a desk with more papers and scrolls on top than the Hokage's desk. And seated at the desk was a man wearing a wide black robe with blood-red clouds on it.

The man had dark orange hair and ghostly pale skin. On his face was several piercings going down the length of his nose. His irises were a light sky blue with several grey rings in the surrounding whites.

He was Pein, the composer of a complex plan to burn the present world and bring about a new age, a new dawn in the land of shinobi. He was the leader of the Akatsuki, the Red Dawn.

However, his normally stoic expression bore one of extreme frustration. There was a knock on a seemingly non-existent door. A part of the wall opened revealing his best and only friend, Konan.

The blue-haired lady bowed. "Pein-sama, there is urgent news."

"I am very busy, Konan." Pein said as his peculiar eyes scanned through a large scroll. "It better be important enough to interrupt my research on how to re-manifest the Kyuubi. With Uzumaki dead, our plans are set back until I find an appropriate way to revive his tenant."

"Actually, Pein-sama, it relates directly to the Uzumaki boy." Konan replied, a slightly smug smirk on her pretty visage.

The Akatsuki leader looked up from his intense research, staring at his partner inquisitively. "How?"

-

Itachi and Kisame walked down a familiar road that led to the village of Konoha. It was the very same path they had taken in order to try and find one Uzumaki Naruto three years before. Now they were heading back to find him yet again, in order to see if the rumor that he came back from the dead was true.

"So what do you think, Itachi?" The blue-skinned Kiri nuke-nin asked. "Do you believe the brat is actually alive?"

Itachi let out the signature Uchiha grunt. "I have my doubts, but this isn't the first time Naruto-kun has surprised me before."

Kisame smirked mockingly, baring his shark-like teeth. "Reminiscing of your childhood in Konoha, eh?"

The Uchiha glared at him, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning. Unfortunately for him, Kisame was way too used to such stares and was not affected at all.

Itachi turned his eyes back down the road, the top of Konoha's infamous walls breaking the top of the shroud of leaves.

-

People were hustling up and down the streets of Konoha, everyone looking very excited while carrying various supplies. Tomorrow was October Tenth, the day of the Kyuubi Festival. Tomorrow, they will celebrate the sacrifice of the Yondaime Hokage and the end of the terrible calamity that was the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Several also planned to party for the dreaded Kyuubi's human reincarnation, Uzumaki Naruto, had died three years prior.

A certain ramen girl watched from behind the flaps of the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, listening to the bustle of her fellow civilians. However, unlike them, she had a very sad look. Her mind was off in its own little world, recalling the past. Almost all of the memories that were brought up in her brain contained a certain energetic blonde that she thought of as the little brother she never had.

'_Naruto…' _Ayame thought. _'What do I need to do in order to have you inhaling ramen in front of me again?'_

Just then, a young man, a little younger than her but quite taller, entered the shop. She looked up at him with a polite smile.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's, may I take your order?" She asked nicely.

The man smiled back. "Is it ok if I looked at the menu first? I haven't had any ramen here for a while."

"Of course, sir." Ayame nodded. She took a menu from a small compartment underneath the serving counter and gave it to him. The man thanked her before he sat down on a stool and began to read the selection.

Now that she had her head fully out of the metaphorical cloud of her thoughts, the ramen girl observed her customer's looks more closely.

The first thing she noticed was the Konoha insignia on a cloth wrapped around his neck. So this guy was a shinobi? Then she examined his face. He had tanned skin, cerulean blue eyes and a mop of sunny-blonde hair adorned on his head. He wore two earrings, one having a clear gem and the other a black one. Slightly buried in his unruly hair was a pair of black goggles. The lower part of his face was covered by the menu he was reading so closely. Ayame then took in his outfit. The man had a white trench coat, black standard shinobi pants and black battle gloves.

He looked so strikingly familiar to Naruto it was painful. Of course, as any person would assume, she almost immediately concluded that this man _was_ Naruto. But Naruto was dead, so the ramen girl pushed the thought away with vigor. Ayame shook her head and smiled politely again.

"Are you ready to order sir?"

The man looked up at her with his cerulean eyes, the menu never leaving the bottom-half of his face. "If I may ask, where is the old man who usually runs this stand?"

"He's off in Demon Country in order to compete in the Ramen Competitions." The ramen girl answered. "I'm substituting as head chef while he's gone."

The man nodded in understanding and finally let the menu down on the counter. "Well you look a bit under-handed here. I'm not going on any missions for a while, so do you mind if I come here and work part-time for a few weeks?"

Ayame's eyes were wider than an Akamichi. The blonde man's cheeks each held three whisker-like marks.

_BAM!_

The ramen girl's bangs shadowed her eyes as she looked down at the fist she slammed on the counter. The man looked startled. Ayame was clearly shaking.

"You…" She hissed, venom in her voice. She looked up at him, revealing teary eyes filled with anger. "Get out of my stand!"

The man opened his mouth, but she interrupted him before he could say anything. "I said get the fuck out!"

The blonde man looked deeply hurt before he stood and left the stand without uttering a single word. Ayame put up sign on the counter that said 'Out for lunch' when it was still early morning and went to the back of the small stand. If anyone had entered through the flaps, they would've heard a quiet weeping.

-

(**A/N: This next part is a bit graphic.**)

'_Why would someone do that?'_

'_Why would someone impersonate Naruto?'_

'_Is he trying to mess with my feelings?'_

'_What if it _is_ Naruto?'_

'_That's impossible, he's dead!'_

'_Naruto…'_

Ayame woke up, her cheeks wet. She was in a fetal position in a corner of the stand's kitchen. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand as she stood up, feeling sore from the unorthodox sleeping position. The ramen girl looked outside a small window and saw that it was already nighttime. She looked at a clock on a nearby counter and cursed at the time being read. It was almost midnight. Did she really just cry herself into a small coma?

Ayame sighed. She turned off the lights in the stand and gathered her things. She closed the metal grating that separated the serving area from the stools over the counter and locked the doors.

Soon enough, the girl was walking down the dark, empty streets towards her house. Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her. Ayame startled and immediately took out a kunai from her purse. She may not know how to use it properly, but at least it was _something_. She turned to find no one at all.

'_That incident this morning is messing with my head.'_ Ayame thought, shaking her head. She continued on her way, not bothering to store away the kunai. Then a few moments later, the footsteps returned. This time, she turned quicker and caught the perpetrator. It was a large burly man that looked more monster than human in the dim streetlights. He gave a sick disgusting chuckle.

"Well, well, it seems you caught me." He said in a deep guttural voice. Ayame tightened her grip on her kunai. The man looked up and down her figure appreciatively. It disgusted her. "Hm… You sure you can use that thing, miss?"

"S-Stay away from me." The ramen girl stuttered, inching backwards. She had to put as much space as possible between her and this man. Suddenly her back collided with something. A scrawny hand shot out from and grabbed the wrist holding her kunai. The unknown person twisted it, making her cry in pain. The kunai was released and fell to the ground. The hand then pulled her hand up, making her turn to look at its owner. It was another man, tall and skinny.

He licked his lips, sending shivers down Ayame's spine. "She's really soft, oniisan. Can I get first dibs tonight?"

"No way otouto." The big one snapped. "We rarely get any good-looking ones cuz all of them are kunoichi! This one is mine!"

The skinny man scowled. "Fine… But I get to be first on the next hot girl we catch."

Ayame struggled as hard as she could, but the younger one's grip was like iron. The big burly man approached her with a sick smile on his face. She looked at them, pleading them to stop. Tears fell from her eyes as the two unzipped their pants and dragged her to a nearby alley. Several muffled shouts soon came from the alley, accompanying grunts and the sound of ripping cloth. Suddenly a bright light flashed.

-

The brown-haired ramen girl opened her eyes. She found herself on a comfortable bed looking up at a familiar ceiling. She was in her apartment. Ayame's eyes widened as the memories fromlast night resurfaced. She sat up, feeling her body for anything that was irregular. Oddly enough, she felt fine, aside from a small bruise on her wrist. All of her clothes were also still intact.

'_W-what happened?'_ There was a smell of cooking ramen from her apartment's kitchen. She cautiously stood up and approached the door that led to her bedroom. She opened the door a crack and peaked through. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of who was cooking.

-

**Flashback!**

Ayame couldn't see anything because of all the tears falling from her eyes. All she saw were big blurs in the darkness of the night combined with the alley's. She heard the two men laugh perversely as they slid out of something. She couldn't tell. Suddenly there was a shout of pain and the sick crack of bone as one of the two blurs flew backwards. Another blur took his place and struck the remaining one. The man grunted as he slammed into the alley wall.

"Why you!?" One of the two men's voices roared. Another shout of pain, another grunt, a rip of cloth. The ramen girl was blinded by a sudden flash of light.

"**Teppou Rei!**" Another cry of pain, the smell of burnt flesh.

"B-bastard!" Another crack of bone, the thuds of fist pounding against flesh.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" The sound of weak whimpering, many new blurs joined the first.

"That'll teach you to try and harm Ayame-chan!" The familiar nickname that only two people in the world used, her father and Naruto. The ramen girl fell unconscious, the stress of the situation overcoming her.

**Flashback End!**

-

The blonde man from yesterday whistled as he strained the ramen noodles before putting them in the broth. He took the two bowls he made and put them on Ayame's table. He looked at the door with a look that said 'I know you're there'. Ayame opened the door slowly, still suspicious of the person in front of her. The man motioned for her to sit down. He took his own seat and ate into his own ramen. He finished in four seconds flat.

Ayame sat down with him, staring at the content look he had on his face. The man spotted her stare and immediately rubbed his face with the back of his battle gloves. She didn't stop her staring.

"Is there something on my face?"

"On your cheeks."

"My cheeks?" The man took off his glove and felt his cheeks. He shrugged when he didn't feel anything.

"It's still there."

"I can't feel anything." He was starting to get annoyed.

Ayame reached over and traced his whisker marks.

The man's eyes softened. "Oh. That's what you meant?"

"Who are you?"

He smiled. "You know who I am, Ayame-chan."

"Liar. I do not know you. The person you're trying to impersonate is dead. Nice try, though."

The smile disappeared. "Ayame-chan…"

"Don't 'Ayame-chan' me. What is it do you want? What can you accomplish by acting like Uzumaki Naruto?" The ramen girl looked at him expectantly. "Do you want a job? Free ramen? A date? What is it?"

The man looked pensive. "Hm… A date would be nice but that's not it."

Ayame forcefully repressed a blush and narrowed her eyes. "What is it that you want?"

"I want Ayame-chan to believe that I really _am_ Naruto." The man looked at her with such intensity, a chill did laps up and down her back.

She sighed. Then the ramen girl looked at him with a smug smile. "I'll believe you're Naruto if you can accomplish what only _he_ can."

"And what is that exactly?"

The sound and smell of ramen cooking followed.

-

Naruto picked at his teeth with a toothpick. In front of him were nearly fifty empty bowls. Next to him stood a gaping Ayame.

'_No way… How? There's no way he could be alive!'_ The ramen girl looked at him with curiousity.

The blonde shinobi grinned his foxy grin.

'… _Shit. Only Naruto could grin like that.'_

"H-how?"

"Well…" The blonde smirked and began to tell her the very same story he told everyone else.

-

Kisame looked at the two bloody heaps that lay in the middle of the alley with disdain.

"Wow." The shark-man said. "Whoever did this must've been really angry."

Itachi looked out of the alley, where several people were dressed up for the Kyuubi Festival tonight. None of them noticed the two Akatsuki members nor the two most-likely dead thugs. They were all too caught up talking about how every trace of the demon was gone from their beloved village. Even the so-called highly trained and alert shinobi.

Itachi shook his head in embarrassment. "I think I remember why I left Konoha now."

Kisame laughed.

-

Sasuke stopped his training with Suigetsu and Juugo. He suddenly looked up into the sky as a foreboding feeling came upon his 'Uchiha senses'. His Mangekyou Sharingan swirled into being as he bared his teeth.

"Naruto…"

Suigetsu and Juugo looked at each other in confusion as Sasuke continued to glare at the sky like it had slept with his mother. Karin just watched, squealing at Sasuke's sexiness. Damned fangirls.

-

**Review please! My colon calls for it!**


	7. Confessions

**Notes:** Yes, yes, I know that I haven't updated for eight bajillion millennia. I'm a bad boy. I'm a _naughty_ boy. Yeah… You know you want to punish me. You know you want to. With leather, whips and mutual nudity… Mmm…

… Please ignore that last comment.

-

**Define 'Human'**

**Chapter 5: Confessions**

Two men walked through the sandy dunes of Kaze no Kuni, a deathly silence between them. One was tall and slim while the other was hunched over and bulky. They both wore wide-brimmed straw hats that covered their faces and black robes with crimson clouds on them.

"So who's our target again, yeah?" The tall one asked.

"Gaara no Subaku, the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi no Shukakku." The hunched one responded in a guttural voice.

"Hm… Sounds like a worthy opponent. You say he's the Kazekage too, yeah?"

"Yes, but my spy assures me that we will have an opening to capture him and bring him back to the base safely."

"It doesn't matter, yeah. I'll blow up anyone standing in our way."

The hunched one sighed. "You still don't understand true art."

"Psh… You're the one who doesn't understand, yeah. True art is a magnificent instant of glory, beauty and passion. It comes and goes in the blink of an eye."

"You are incorrect as usual. True art is everlasting, able to live on for every future generation to love and admire."

And so the two artists bickered.

-

"Naruto?"

Said blonde turned from his bowl of ramen, noodles sticking out of his mouth. He looked quizzically at a certain pinkette standing next to the entrance of the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. "Ssshhkrrphrrchmmmnn?"

Ayame wacked his head with a ladle. "Swallow your food before speaking, Naruto-kun."

Naruto pouted, gulping down his mouthful of noodle and broth. Sakura shook her head in exasperation as she sat down with her teammate.

"Geez, even after three years of being dead, you haven't changed one bit." She said.

"Hey!" He retorted. "I've changed a lot, dattebayo!"

"Whatever Naruto." Sakura rolled her eyes.

Ayame giggled. Then she glared at the blonde. "Naruto-kun, have you forgotten about our deal?"

Naruto ignored her and continued to inhale his ramen.

"Naruto-kun!"

"Sluuuuuuurrrp!"

"NARUTO-KUN!"

"Sluuuuuuurrrp!"

"Don't make me tell Sakura about that time Tousan taught you about the 'birds and bees'!"

"Pffffffffffffftt!" Naruto sprayed bits of ramen all over the serving counter. "Don't you _dare_!"

Ayame smirked. "Try me."

The blonde sighed. "Fine."

He jumped over the counter to the other side and ducked out from Sakura's view. A second later, he stood up, wearing an apron over his mesh undershirt.

"Apprentice ramen-cooker, Uzumaki Naruto reporting for duty!" Naruto snapped a salute with a ladle in hand.

"At ease, private." Ayame giggled, getting into the act. The blonde let his hand fall. "Now… Man the pots and make sure the noodles don't overcook. I'll handle the broth since only an Ichiraku knows the Legendary Ichiraku Ramen Broth recipe."

"Aye aye, mam!" He saluted again before going over the noodle pots.

"Naruto's working here now?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Yep." Ayame responded. "He told me he needed some extra money since he's been late on his apartment rentals and other taxes for about three years. Now what'd you like?"

"I'll have a diet miso." The pinkette responded. "With the usual toppings."

Ayame nodded before she poured some pre-prepared broth into a bowl and heading over to Naruto and telling him the toppings that Sakura would like. The ramen girl handed him the bowl before attending to another customer who had walked into the stand. Sakura waited for a minute as Naruto added the noodles to the broth and began to chop up various vegetables and meat, which were put into the bowl soon after. The blonde set the bowl down in front of Sakura.

The pinkette took her chopsticks and snapped them in half perfectly. "Itadakimasu!"

She closed her eyes as she tried to dip her chopsticks into her bowl, but instead poked something soft. She poked harder at the offending object keeping her away from her meal. The pinkette opened her eyes to find the utensils stabbing Naruto in the cheek.

"That kind of hurts Sakura-chan."

The blonde was lying on the counter, his head hovering over her bowl.

"… What the hell are you doing, Naruto?"

"Well Ayame-chan told me your preferred toppings were green onions, strips of sirloin, boiled egg and a Naruto."

"… You haven't changed… At all."

(_**A/N: A naruto is a swirl-shaped cake made of ground fish and spices. It is traditionally used in Japan as a ramen topping.**_)

-

Sakura let out a sigh of content as she finished her Naruto-less bowl. "Thanks for the meal."

"Your welcome, Sakura-san." Ayame responded as she stirred a pot of broth. "Come back anytime."

"I will." The pinkette said. "Right now I need to go train with Tsunade-sensei."

"Hey Sakura-chan, I wanna ask you something before you go." Naruto smiled as he leaned on the serving counter.

"Ask away, Naruto." Sakura smiled back.

"You wanna um…" The blonde blushed as he scratched the back of his head. "You wanna go on a date tonight?"

Sakura's eyebrows went up. "A-a date?"

"Yeah! A walk through the central park." He explained.

Unlike the times before Sasuke's betrayal, the apprentice medic-nin actually thought about the offer. She felt somewhat indebted to giving her teammate the date he always wanted.

'_It's the least I can do for someone who died for _my_ selfish wants.'_ Sakura thought as her expression softened.

"Sure, Naruto. I'd love too."

The blonde grinned, revealing shining white teeth that would make Gai jealous. "Great! I'll pick you up at six."

-

Sakura stood before her mirror, clad in only her undergarments. She held a blouse in each hand and looked extremely pensive. The pinkette studied the two tops, trying to decide which one would look best on her.

"Sakura! A sweet blonde boy with a bouquet of flowers is waiting for you at the door!" Her mother called from downstairs.

"Gah!" The green-eyed girl panicked and immediately threw on a shirt and got into her pants. "Wait a second!"

Meanwhile, a similarly-haired woman looked at a rigid, nervous Naruto standing at the doorway, a bundle of red roses in his hand.

"Hm…" The woman had her hand on her chin, as if thinking of something. "So you're Uzumaki Naruto huh?"

"Y-yes mam." Naruto nodded, sweating profusely. He was nervous of his first ever real date. And with Sakura-chan too! The Haruno before him sighed before shaking her head. She smiled.

"Look, Naruto-san. My daughter has told me many good things about you and I expect you to be nice, alright?" She explained.

Inwardly, Naruto let out a sigh of relief. _'Wow. I thought she'd grill me about proper behavior towards Sakura-chan or something.'_

"Please stop making him nervous, kaachan." Sakura said as she descended the nearby stairs. The pinkette wore a simple green blouse the same color as her eyes and tight-fitting jeans. But as casual as the outfit was, it managed to bring a small blush to the half-angel/demon's cheeks. The medic-nin grabbed her teammate's hand, eliciting an even bigger blush. "Let's go, Naruto."

With a nod and another blush, the blonde opened the door and led her out into the dusky evening. The older of the two women watched them as they walked towards the Central Konoha Park. She frowned.

"… Something tells me this date isn't going to end well."

-

"Where's Naru-chan again?" Ran asked as she dug around Naruto's apartment.

"He said he was on a date with Sakura-chan." Haku replied, calmly reading a magazine on the couch.

"He's on _what_!?" Ran shouted abruptly.

-

The two teens strolled down one of the park's pathways, watching other couples go by and kids play at the playgrounds. Sakura stared pointedly at her date. The blonde caught her look and began to search himself for something askew. Finally, he returned the look.

"What is it?"

The pink-haired girl sighed. "Well I don't know. This is supposedly the date you've always wanted since we were twelve, but you haven't even touched me since back at my house."

"Look, I'm just nervous. This _is_ my first date." Naruto grumbled.

"You mean even with all those cute angel and demon girls, you haven't landed yourself a single date?" Sakura gasped. "Wow. That's a bit pathetic."

"I'm not exactly the womanizing type like Ero-sennin." The blonde replied. "Besides, most of the time I've been training and hanging out with Hibana-chan, Ran-chan and Haku-chan."

The pinkette rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Naruto blushed as he suddenly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Sakura stiffened at that. "W-what are you doing?"

"You wanted some contact, so here's some contact." Naruto answered in a smug voice. The pinkette pouted. Then she settled into it, leaning slightly on her teammate.

"Fine then."

Naruto's face suddenly lightened up. "I have an idea! There's this spot I wanna show you."

The pink-haired girl thought, putting a finger to her chin. "Alright. But first, buy me a popsicle."

She pointed to a small ice cream cart. Naruto sweat-dropped.

"You haven't changed either, Sakura-chan."

-

"Wow…" Sakura gaped at the sunset from on top of a hill in the middle of the park. She nibbled lightly on the popsicle Naruto had bought for her.

"Like it?" The blonde asked, a foxy grin on his face. The two sat at the hill's peak, at the base of a large cherry blossom tree. Its flowers were beginning to form. Naruto smiled as he glanced up at the tree's canopy. "The blossoms will bloom soon. It's almost springtime."

The pinkette leaned against her teammate, enjoying the romantic moment. "Yeah… Say, Naruto."

"Hm?"

"How'd you know about this spot? I've been through this park on my way home from working at the hospital but I've never seen this place."

The blonde's eyes softened. "I… I don't want to talk about it."

-

The three otherworldly girls sat on Naruto's bed in a circle. Haku and Hibana explained the reason Naruto and Sakura were going out on a date.

Ran scratched the back of her head sheepishly, a habit she picked up from the blonde. "Oh… So he asked her out so he could tell her _that_."

"Yep." Hibana nodded. "Naruto-kun wanted Sakura to know how he feels about her."

"Wow." Ran said. "It takes a pretty big set of balls to confess this kind of thing on such a romantic of setting."

"If you need big balls, Naruto-kun's your man." Haku commented. She frowned. "That didn't sound quite right."

Ran and Hibana giggled. Then the navy-blue haired demoness smirked.

"Hey girls, wanna guess what I found in a floorboard under Naru-chan's couch?" She lifted a cardboard box from the floor onto the bed.

"What is it?" Hibana asked, putting her textbook away. The way her cousin smirked sent chills up her heavenly spine. She opened the box.

"W-w-what's that!?" Haku gasped. Her cheeks turned pink as the contents of the box were revealed.

"H-h-how could Naruto-kun read such unhealthy magazines!?" Hibana blushed brightly as she covered her mouth. A large stack of adult reading material sat in the box, their covers showing rather graphic images.

"Well, he'd have to get inspiration for the **Oiroke** from _somewhere_." Ran nodded sagely. "Let's get to reading."

-

Naruto felt the pinkette take his hands. She guided his arms to wrap around her waist.

"You know Naruto. I don't want this moment to end." Sakura commented as the sunset began to dim and nightfall arrived.

"Me neither." Naruto whispered. The blonde gulped. "Sakura-chan, I have something very important to tell you."

"What is it Naruto?"

Naruto thought carefully about his next words. Then he opened his mouth. "This is something I've been thinking about for the past two years I was gone. Ever since we met, I've had feelings that attracted me to you. I was unsure, thinking it was just some childish crush. Well, while in Shinkai and Makai I've confirmed these feelings and want to make sure you know about them as well. I want you accept them, but even if you don't they will not go away."

A blush crawled up the pink-haired medic-nin's cheeks. "W-what are you trying to say?"

Naruto tightened his hold around her waist.

"I love you, Sakura-chan."

-

Shikamaru knocked hard on Naruto's apartment door, breathing heavily. He had just ran from the Hokage Tower in order to deliver a message.

A female voice called from inside. "Coming!"

The door opened to reveal a lavender-haired and eyed girl that seemed to glow in the dimming sunlight. From what Naruto told him and the rest of the Konoha Eleven, this girl was an angel.

"Yes? Is there something you want…?"

"Nara Shikamaru." The Chuunin finished for her.

"Shikamaru-san." The angel girl nodded.

"Where is Naruto?" He asked.

"He's out on a date with Sakura-san."

The pineapple-haired brunette shoved away his curiosity about that. "Where are they?"

"Central Konoha Park."

"Domo." The Chuunin said before turning on his radio. "This is Shikamaru, I know where Naruto is."

Neji's voice came from the other side of the two-way radio. "Where is he?"

"Central Konoha Park." Shikamaru repeated. "Be sure to hurry."

"Hai." The line buzzed with static as Neji turned his own radio off. The shadow-manipulator prepared to leap onto a nearby roof, but a voice stopped him.

"What's going on?" Hibana asked.

"Akatsuki." The tactician simply replied as he jumped off in the direction of the park.

-

Sakura couldn't breathe. She couldn't blink. She couldn't move. Hell, she couldn't even feel her heart beating.

'_D-did he just say what I thought he did?'_

'_**CHA! HE JUST CONFESSED! SHANNARO!'**_ Inner-Sakura raged, blushing wildly.

The pinkette felt her teammate's hot breath on her neck. The moment and what he had just said was driving her crazy. Sakura wanted to take the blonde right there and have her way with him in that secluded spot in the park. But something told her to stop.

"I truly love you, Sakura-chan." Naruto closed his eyes. "But… as a brother would to his closest sister."

The pinkette's eyes widened. _'Ok, now I just _know_ that he's messing with me on purpose.'_

"I've realized that you would never love me in the way you loved Sasuke. So I tried to love you in a way that you could love me as well. I thought it would be hard. But then I realized that it was almost disturbingly comfortable to think of you as a sibling. I realized that since the start, this affection I've had for you since we were kids was just merely sibling love, not the romantic kind." Naruto explained. "I hope you understand, Sakura-chan."

Tears threatened to fall from Sakura's eyes. She just couldn't help but feel somehow dejected. "I-I understand, Naruto. But no matter how you love me, I will do anything I can to support it. I may not return it, but after all that I have done to you, I feel indebted to help you out."

"Thanks Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered. He let go of her waist and stood up. "Well it feels good to finally have that off my chest."

"Yeah…" Sakura said smiling sadly.

"How touching." A new voice said. The two teens shot up, brandishing kunai. They searched for the source of that voice. Then a black silhouette rose from the ground and vanished revealing two men. They wore black cloaks covered in red clouds.

"Good to see you again, Naruto-kun." Itachi said in monotone.

"Yo, brat." Kisame grinned toothily.

Naruto and Sakura glared as they prepared to spring into action.

"No need for violence, Naruto-kun." Itachi's Sharingan spun. "We just want some information, such as how you are alive."

The blonde smirked. "Like I'd tell you that. However, I _will_ tell you that the Kyuubi's gone. He's not inside me anymore. So leave me and this village alone."

"I'm afraid we can't, brat." Kisame hefted his Samehada onto his shoulder. "Tell us what happened to the Kyuubi or else."

"Or else what?" Sakura spat.

"We'll have to kidnap you and torture the information out of you of course." Kisame laughed.

Naruto grinned. "Let's see you try!"

He took his goggles from his forehead and slipped them over his eyes. Suddenly his trench coat flew backwards. The blonde let his sleeves slide right off his arms as his coat drooped behind his back. However it was still attached to his shoulder blades. The diamond earring on his right ear glowed brightly.

"**Tenshijutsu: Houmen Tsubasa!**"

-

**Sorry for all you NaruSaku fans, but I don't plan it to be a NaruSaku in this story. She will be used as a catalyst for advancing the storyline and relationships, but unfortunately she won't get a piece of our blonde hero. Review please!**


	8. Battle of Flames

**Notes:** Ok, for all you people grumbling that I didn't do a NaruSaku this story, don't blame me. If you actually readthe past Author's Notes, then you'd probably see that I held a poll in the very first chapter. If you want to whine about how Sakura isn't in the harem then bitch about your fellow readers, cuz _they_ voted for it. However, since I'm such a generous (and brilliantly evil) author, I'll create a few touchy-touchy moments of them here and there. How I would do that while keeping them strictly platonic is up to my severely messed-up mind.

Oh and yes I understand that I don't update as soon as you guys want me to. I'll have you know that I acknowledge your pleas, but I won't necessarily follow them. Why? Cuz I'm such a brilliantly evil (and generous) author, that's why. MWUAHAHAHAHA!

Also, I'm not very good at describing fight scenes but I do what I can.

**Additional Notes: **I reposted because after re-reading the previous chapter, I noticed this one contradicted highly with how it ended. Here's the fixed version of Chapter 6.

-

**Define 'Human'**

**Chapter 6: Battle of Flames**

Shikamaru, Lee and Neji ran across rooftops towards Konoha Central Park. There had been sightings of two Akatsuki members earlier in the day and they were assigned to warn Naruto of their presence. As they hopped over streets, they spotted people heading to the plaza in front of the Hokage Tower for the Kyuubi Festival. The three Konoha-nin ignored them and continued running.

Suddenly, a crimson and navy-blue blur landed next to them. It was Ran, Naruto's demonic friend.

"What are you doing here?" Neji asked.

"If Naru-chan dies again, we'd have gone through all that trouble training him back in Shinkai and Makai for nothing." Ran replied with a smirk. Shikamaru glanced at her, noticing the fact that she had no trouble keeping pace with the rest of the group. A shadow passed overhead.

The three shinobi looked up to find a winged figure seemingly guarding them from harm.

"Hi-chan you showoff!" Ran shouted at the figure.

-

Haku huffed as she ran down the streets to get to Konoha Central Park.

"Why… is… not having chakra… so damn frustrating!?" The girl growled in frustration. She stopped to catch a breath. "What I wouldn't give for being able to jump on rooftops again."

She continued to run in order to try and help.

-

Hibana gasped as her blonde friend's reiatsu flared. "Naruto released his wings!"

Ran looked troubled before she sped up to the front of the group.

"Let's hurry up!" Ran told the three shinobi. Lee, Neji and Shikamaru nodded before going even faster in order to keep in step with the demonic and angelic girls.

-

Itachi and Kisame stepped back, slightly stunned at Naruto's transformation. The blonde's tanned skin paled to a creamy color. His whiskers thinned so much they were barely visible. His cerulean eyes became a frosty ice-cold blue. A golden ethereal ring floated above his head, wisps of silver mist floating down from it, forming a sort of mystic cloak around Naruto's body. However, the most noticeable part of the new Naruto was that instead of his white trench coat, a huge pair of pure white, golden-tipped wings flapping lightly behind him.

"Well…" Kisame muttered. "That was unexpected."

"Hn." Itachi grunted. Twin kodachis fell from the inside of his sleeves into his waiting nail-polished hands. "Alright Naruto-kun, if it is a fight you want, then Kisame and I would be happy to oblige."

The fish-like man hefted his large sword and with a loud cry, smashed it into the ground, sending a large cloud of dust into the air.

Sakura spit the remains of her popsicle onto the ground as she turned, back-to-back with her teammate, in order to search for the two Akatsuki members. The pinkette's emerald eyes glanced at the winged back of the blonde.

"Geez, Naruto. I knew you said you were now part-angel, but _wings_!?"

"Well, what'd you expect? A fish tail and gills?" The blonde replied. His frosty eyes scanned the cloud for any source of the two S-class nuke-nin.

Suddenly a figure dropped in between the two, swinging a large sword in a circle. Naruto and Sakura ducked and rolled away from the figure, now revealing itself as Kisame. The shark-man grinned toothily at the medic-nin. He leaped at her with Samehada swinging madly. The pinkette was forced to dodge backwards.

"Sakura-chan!" The blonde shouted out as he lost vision of his teammate in the cloud. He growled. _'This is no ordinary smoke.'_

Naruto put his hands together to form the Ram seal. "Kai!"

Slowly, the smoke dissipated, revealing the area atop the hill. There was no one there other than himself.

"Dammit." He cursed. Naruto searched the park woods below and all sides of the slope for any signs of the Akatsuki or Sakura. "What happened to them?"

'_If I can't find them on the ground, then I'll have to look in the sky.' _His wings flapped, lifting him off the ground lightly. A sudden voice stopped him.

"Now, now Naruto-kun. It's not polite to leave a fight. That's cowardly." Itachi said. He held his kodachis in reverse-grip, standing at the base of the cherry blossom tree.

The blonde allowed himself to fall back to the ground as he turned to the Uchiha.

"What happened to Sakura-chan and the shark-man?" He demanded more than asked.

The stoic nuke-nin slightly narrowed his eyes. "That is nothing you should worry about. I am your opponent."

Naruto smirked. "Fine then. Come at me, teme!"

Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan swirled into being. "So be it."

-

Sakura stood in the light woods of the park. Even though the trees and vegetation were less dense than in the forests surrounding the village, there was still a lot of cover for an enemy to attack from. She flexed her hands, slowly saturating them with her chakra.

A blue-skinned figure appeared behind her, his sword swinging at her neck. Sakura quickly dropped to the ground and swept her left leg around to trip her opponent. Kisame hopped over the kick, with his own leg swinging at her head. With flexibility only kunoichi could achieve, Sakura bent backwards, the only thing keeping her from lying flat on the ground was the toes on her right foot. Planting her palms on the ground and utilizing Tsunade's Legendary Strength, she used those toes to shoot her lower body upwards. Her left leg was then poised to deliver a strong kick to her opponent's crotch.

Kisame used his spinning momentum to turn sideways, dodging the kick. He spun around, his sword extended to deliver a horizontal slash at the now-upside-down medic-nin's legs. Sakura bent her legs forward, avoiding the strike and planting them on the ground at the same time. The pinkette continued her somersault, flipping yet at again, to put some room between her and her opponent.

Kisame grinned. "You're pretty good. But not nearly good enough."

The blue-skinned man grabbed the bandages surrounding Samehada and ripped them off, revealing the spiny sword in all its glory. He let out a battle cry before charging at the pinkette. Sakura punched the ground, shattering the earth and sending a shockwave towards Kisame.

The shark-man jumped above the destruction her punch caused. He flew at her at near-untraceable speed. Samehada was on his shoulder, prepared to be swung like a baseball bat. Sakura, not having enough time to dodge, quickly bent backwards. The sword flashed in her vision, just a few inches near her nose.

The pinkette, still bent backwards, turned her torso so her hands could be planted on the ground. She then spun like a sideways top, her outstretched legs like the blades of a shuriken. A foot luckily caught Kisame in the cheek, sending him blasting through a tree.

As she stopped spinning and steadied herself, Sakura mentally smiled. _'I'll have to thank Lee for teaching me the basics of Goken.'_

The pinkette suddenly dropped to her knee, gasping. Her cranium ached, as if some sort of invisible tube had sucked her blood from her forehead.

"W-what the hell was that?" She coughed. Kisame's laugh echoed through the trees. The blue-skinned man reappeared in front of her, his cheek slightly bruised.

"Geez, if I hadn't softened that blow with chakra, you would've kicked my head straight off." Kisame chuckled. "So… do you feel it?"

"Feel what?" The pinkette asked as she staggered backwards.

"Samehada's special ability. It devours all nearby sources of chakra. Even if it doesn't touch you at all, Samehada will siphon your chakra until you have none left." Kisame explained. "And against opponents with low chakra reserves, such as medic-nin, it's especially deadly."

The sound of metal clanging came from the top of the hill nearby.

'_Naruto, I hope you're ok.' _Sakura worriedly thought.

'_**CHA!! We aren't doing so well either!'**_ Inner Sakura retorted.

-

Naruto was willing to admit it. Itachi was _fast_. And coupled with his Sharingan and skills as a former ANBU, the Uchiha was plain-out scary to fight. The only upper hand that Naruto could get so far was his wings.

The sensitive feathers of his two appendages detected anything coming at him from behind and the sides. His wings could also quickly flap, sending a burst of wind to blow an enemy or projectile back, or steady himself.

Itachi literally ran circles around the blonde. Naruto spun this way and that, shielding himself with his wings as the nuke-nin looked for an opening to strike. One revealed itself.

Itachi jumped towards Naruto. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, the blades facing toward the blonde. Then he slashed outwards, aiming for his opponent's head. Naruto ducked and tried to palm strike the Uchiha in the sternum. Itachi turned in a full circle and moved backwards simultaneously, letting his kodachi swing wildly as a result. The blonde aborted his strike and resorted to turning in the same direction as the raven-haired man in order to avoid the deadly blades.

Itachi suddenly shot forward and slammed the sole of his heel into Naruto's chest, sending him stumbling back from the force of the kick. The raven-haired man continued the offense and blurred in front of the surprised blonde, his left hand's kodachi ready to bury itself in Naruto's stomach. The blonde, quickly flapped his wings, sending himself backwards even more to avoid the blade. Itachi glued himself to the ground with chakra as the gust of wind pushed him. He brought his right arm forward in a thrust.

Naruto slapped his hands together in front of him, catching the blade in between his palms. The tip was safely caught in a chakra-covered area of his hand, preventing any cuts. Itachi stepped forward, bringing his other kodachi to bear. He slashed downwards at the former-Jinchuuriki's head. Surprisingly, his halo stopped the blade with a metallic clang. Naruto jumped and planted his feet on Itachi's chest, kicking it hard. The Uchiha reeled backwards.

The blonde back-flipped from the kick, his wings steadying himself as he spun in the air. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he pointed his index finger in a gun-like way at the Uchiha, using his other hand to steady it.

"**Teppou Rei!**" A thin beam of white light shot from the tip of the finger. It struck Itachi's left-handed kodachi, making it fly off into the cherry blossom tree's canopy.

Itachi watched the path of his weapon as it disappeared in the leaves. "Interesting."

"Keep your head in the battle, teme!" Naruto smirked as his reiatsu flared. He exchanged his pointed finger for an open palm directed at the Uchiha. "**Nenshou Rei!**"

An even larger beam shot out of his palm. Itachi's Sharingan swirled, the tomoe connecting into a triple-bladed figure.

"**Amaterasu.**" A scorching black flame burst outwards from his crimson eyes, engulfing the beam and flying towards the blonde. Naruto gasped as the unholy fire quickly approached him.

'_Shit! It's moving too fast!'_ Naruto thought in panic. His skin crisped under the intense heat. Sweat poured as he pushed his hand upward in panic.

-

Ran, Shikamaru, Neji and Lee ran through the trees that covered the park. Hibana flew over them to look for any signs of the Akatsuki or Naruto.

A flash of light on top of a nearby hill drew her attention.

"I found them!" The angelic teen told her companions as she pointed in the direction of the hill. She banked towards the hill and sped up.

-

Sakura sat the base of a tree, gasping for breath. She mentally berated herself for not bringing along any ninja equipment on her 'date'.

Suddenly, a large blade exploded from the bark right above her head. The pinkette instinctively rolled forward to dodge the strike. Kisame drew Samehada back, making the tree topple. Sakura turned to face her opponent. Her eyes widened at the destruction the shark-skin blade caused.

The bark of the tree was not sliced cleanly. It looked more like it was shaved by a rusty razor.

"No more playing games, pinky." Kisame taunted. "It's time to end this."

A sudden explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet.

"Naruto!" The medic-nin shouted in worry. She immediately ran in the direction of the explosion. Kisame huffed before following swiftly after her heels.

-

Itachi watched as the black flames slowly died down, revealing a huge scorched area instead of Naruto's side of the battlefield. He looked upwards to see the blonde hanging on a glowing rope of sort. It was attached to the glowing hands of another figure with wings.

"**Hikari no Kei**…" Naruto gasped. He looked up at his angelic friend with a big grin. "What took you so long!?"

Hibana shook her head in exasperation and relief. Her reiatsu-infused hands held onto the light whip tightly. "Are you alright!?"

"I'm fine!" Naruto shouted back. He glared back at the Uchiha.

The raven-haired man stared back with the same impassive look. Two blurs shot suddenly shot by, one stealing the Uchiha's remaining kodachi from his hand. Itachi also found himself not able to move.

"**Kagemane no Jutsu**." Shikamaru drawled as he let his hands fall to his sides. He walked out into the open from behind the Uchiha, nodded lightly to the airborne blonde.

Ran smirked as she drove the blade of Itachi's sword into the ground. "We got here just in time."

"Don't even try to move." Neji muttered as he put a palm to Itachi's chest, ready to put a surge of chakra in order to stop his heart if necessary.

At that moment, Sakura dived into the slightly burnt clearing atop the hill. Kisame followed, jumping out from the canopy of a nearby tree. Lee blurred out of nowhere in front of the still-midair Kisame.

"**Konoha Senpuu!**" The leotard-clad shinobi shouted before sending an axe kick to the blue-skinned man's chest. Kisame flipped from the force of the kick and landed roughly on his back.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" Sakura shouted as she stood. Her eyes scanned the ground for her teammate. A voice made her look up.

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan! How about you!?"

The pinkette blinked as Naruto hovered above her, holding onto what looked to be a rope made of pure light. The rope was held by one of Naruto's supernatural companions, Hibana if she remembered correctly.

"Hn." Itachi grunted. "I've been caught."

"It's all over now, Itachi-teme!" Naruto said as he dropped from his light whip. "Now tell me why you attacked me!?"

Itachi continued to look impassive. "I will tell you that as soon as you tell me what happened to the Kyuubi."

The blonde smirked. "Well he's not inside me anymore, that's for sure."

"Hn." The Uchiha grunted again. "Thank you for sharing with us that information, Naruto-kun. I hope we see each other some time again."

Naruto furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about? You aren't going anywhere."

"I haven't gone anywhere at all, Naruto-kun." Itachi replied. "I haven't moved a single muscle and yet you've told me what I needed to know."

His statement served to confuse the teens surrounding him. Then the Uchiha's face suddenly seemed to melt off, revealing the face of another man's. Naruto's eyes widened. _'That's the guy who tried to hurt Ayame-chan!'_

The man groaned as Shikamaru released the **Kagemane no Jutsu**. Neji caught him as he slumped to the ground. Naruto looked at where Kisame's body should be only to find the man's large brother.

"Dammit!" He cursed.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled. "I've read about a Jutsu that allows a shinobi to temporarily transfer his appearance and abilities to a dead body, and use the body's senses as if his own. It's not practical in combat as it takes an abnormal amount of chakra and focus to use; so much that the user must meditate to use it properly. It also sends out large chakra flares that give away their position."

"We need to warn Baachan and Ero-sennin." Naruto said.

"No need." Ran replied. "Haku-chan probably has them coming here by now."

The blonde nodded. "Good. So now I'll just…"

He fell flat on his face, asleep before he even hit the ground.

Hibana sighed as she slowly landed next to her winged friend. She bent down to check his pulse. "He still isn't used to using reiatsu in a battle situation. He has to remember that his reiatsu reserves aren't as large as his chakra ones."

"He hasn't changed at all." Sakura said under her breath. She smiled lightly at his unconscious form.

-

**I want reviews now! WAAAAHHHH!!! - cries like little baby -**


	9. Interlude: The Past Repeats Itself

**Notes:** I've been hit by _shitloads_ of inspiration for this story. So, now I'll be giving it some more attention than my other stories. Get ready for some incoherent stuff that will somehow attach into the main plotline later on.

-

**Define 'Human'**

**Interlude 1: The Past Repeats Itself**

Two pairs of feet walked down a dark, metallic corridor. The footsteps' clacking made loud echoes run up and down the halls. The men bearing those feet carried identical looks of regality and intense seriousness. You could practically feel the tension on their breaths.

Kami and Akuma strode down the corridor to a simple wooden door. The younger of the two lords opened the door and both walked into the large room beyond.

Angels and demons scurried all over the room. Several closely studied strange radar-like devices while others handed paperwork over to their superiors. Some discussed battle formations on a table while others communicated to outlying bases on their radios. The room was obviously a control center of some sort.

One demon spotted the two lords at the doorway. "Praise be to Kami-sama! Devotion be to Akuma-sama!"

All beings in the room stopped what they were doing and echoed the demon in unison. They bowed.

"You may rise." Akuma told them. The beings immediately resumed working.

The two lords walked over to a table where several angels and demons looked over what seemed to be a model of a field.

"Alpha Station to the west is suffering technical failures, so we need to send an engineering team. Beta Station witnessed an assault group marching their way, but Delta Station denies this claim. They say it was a scouting group by the Darkwing Spirits according to the crests on their chests." One angel said as he used a katana to point at various places on the field. There were small rectangular boxes at each point. As the two lords came over, he sheathed his blade and saluted. "Praise be to-"

"Enough, Hiberu." Kami interrupted. "As my son, you do not need to preform such formalities."

"Still, as a superior you deserve proper respect, father." The angel, Hiberu, responded with a smug smirk.

Akuma shook his head in exasperation. "At times like these, I'm glad Ran is an only child."

"Shut up, aniki." Kami glared at his brother. He turned back to his son. "Just tell me the status on the fronts."

"The Netherbeings are being held back to their portal at the western and eastern fronts. Skirmishes have broken out on the northern front. Sightings on the southern front, but the Netherbeings' migration patterns should have most of them up north." Hiberu explained as he pointed at the places again, with his finger this time.

Kami narrowed his eyes. _'Netherbeings…'_

Netherbeings were just that, beings from the netherworld: the area of unknown origin or size that surrounded the three ethereal planes. Neither of the lords that ruled the planes even knew its purpose.

The Netherbeings themselves however, were not evil. They were just beasts, having the same amount of sentience as a goat. They had many shapes that resembled earthly animals. Their only negative attribute was their extreme hunger. Although mostly pacifist, they killed anything that blocked the way to their grazing fields. So as a result, all three planes have set up borderlines of sorts that keep the beasts away. Even in the eternity that the planes have existed, no unarmed angel, demon or spirit has been able to cross the borderline without being mutilated within an hour. And with the unknown purpose of the beasts, the three lords could not entirely wipe them out without expecting some sort of consequence.

"Reinforce the southern line just in case." Kami stated.

Akuma just listened as his younger sibling started to give orders on how to distribute troops on both of their planes' borders. He couldn't help but feel proud. Kami was the tactician of the two brothers. No one could match his military genius or his ability to execute plans. Akuma was the warrior, preferring to battle on the front lines as a shock trooper. Of course that doesn't mean Kami is a weakling. Hell, if the two went all-out Kami would probably draw out the fight to a couple millennia. And when forced to, Akuma himself could also think of plans that could match any military prodigies', mortal or not.

"Do we send word to Shinigami-dono to recall his Darkwings?" Hiberu asked his father. "They might be caught in the crossfire should a battle break out."

"Hai." Kami answered. "Tell him we need another shipment of armor and weapons as well. He has a few millennia's worth of blacksmiths at his disposal that need to refine their skills."

"Right on it." Hiberu left to inform the communicators to contact a messenger.

Akuma glanced at his younger brother. "Ototo."

"Yes, Aniki?"

"My spies in Yomi have spotted a peculiar person." The Lord of Makai said with a grimace. "They confirmed it was Hantaisha Kagai."

Kami frowned. His face scrunched up with anger. "That bastard. I'll get him soon enough for what he did to Hibana."

"We'll keep lookout." Akuma told him. The two lords stared silently at nothing. They thought hard and hoped. They hoped for their newest experiment not to go awry and lose sight of his original goal.

-

A figure sat at a ramen stand, slurping lightly at the salty broth of a miso ramen bowl. He had short-cropped ebon hair and poison green eyes. His face was apathetic, but it had a hidden charming, handsome quality to it. His black leather jacket shined in the dim lighting with a crimson shirt under it. On his lower body, he wore crimson pants and a black-stained chain was wrapped around his waist. On his back was a black scythe with a crimson serrated blade. He sighed as he sensed a couple of demons watch him from a nearby rooftop.

The being, named Hantaisha Kagai, finished his dish before he turned to look straight at the surprised spies. Kagai raised an eyebrow before turning back to the scared-as-shit ramen stand owner.

"You know. I've always hated ramen." He told the owner. Then he smiled.

The stand, the block around it and the spirits within exploded in a fury of dark energy.

-

Naruto awoke on a hospital bed, clad in nothing but his trench coat, his sash and a pair of boxers.

"… I have a feeling things are going to get ridiculously complicated over the next few days."

-

**Like my new antagonist? Don't worry, you'll learn about him and all the crap going on in Shinkai, Makai and Yomi later on. By the way, Hantaisha Kagai translates into 'Evil Adversary'. Original, huh? Review please!**


	10. Death Is Absolute

**Notes: **I WANT PIE! Or more reviews. Whichever you guys can give me.

-

**Define 'Human'**

**Chapter 7: Death Is Absolute**

Kagai walked over to two Darkwing Spirits lying on the ground, making sure to step extra hard on their spiritual armor once he got there.

"Weak." The teen said as he spat on the spirits' faces. "Even for the so-called 'elite'. What kind of system is Shinigami running these days?"

The bodies suddenly began to dissolve. As an already dead being, spirits could not die. They could only disappear into oblivion, never to be seen or heard again through any known means.

The black-haired boy reattached his scythe to his back and looked out in front of him. There it was… The Infinity Codex, the book that documented the past, present, future and all that occurred and existed within those times. Some say it was written by the very first all-powerful being that created the three lords of the planes and the deities that shaped the mortal world. But however it was written, the matter of the fact was that should it fall into the wrong hands, the realms could be forever trapped in an age of chaos. It was guarded deep within the recesses of Shinigami's Palace, guarded by elite Darkwing Spirits.

The Darkwing Spirits were the standing army of Yomi. They possessed superior technology and weapons than their angel or demon counterparts. This is due to their need for protection against the Netherbeings, which the dead naturally did not have seeing as they have no energy coils of any sort. The Darkwings often wore full body armor that befit a samurai but had technology that would make any non-spiritual technician drool. Many parts had shock-absorbing materials and could withstand a **Teppou Rei** without any visible effect. Their weapons were more like beams of pure artificial energy attached to a metallic rod.

"I might need one of these." Kagai said as he took one of the spirit's beam swords and attached it to his belt. He walked up to the book.

"THIS THING IS TWICE MY FRICKING SIZE!" The scythe-toting teen shouted as he looked up at the really big (!!!) tome.

It had a pure white cover with golden edges. And as he said, the book was literally twice his height and thicker than the pure metal walls that made the room it was contained it. The Infinity Codex seemed to radiate its own aura that could intimidate any lesser being into submission.

Kagai grumbled as he put his hand on the colossal cover. "Well, this is it."

He gave a hard heave and the book opened, its infinite pages instantly flipping to where the book sensed its reader wanted to go. It stopped.

Kagai grinned as he read the passage that contained what he wanted.

"Perfect."

-

A company of Darkwing Spirits slammed down the door to the Infinity Codex chamber. The vault-like door fell to the floor with a clang. The room was empty save for pieces of armor, a few beam swords, the Infinity Codex on its pedestal and a slight burn on the ground. The armored spirits rushed into the room, securing the perimeter of the walls and keeping an eye at the Codex at all times. One didn't. He walked calmly to the burn on the ground and studied it. His eyes widened.

"**Well?**" A voice asked from outside the room. "**What has 'Experiment One' done to the Codex?**"

The spirit looked directly at the voice. A general's badge on his chest shined brightly. "He must've learned a seal from the Infinity Codex and used it. Whatever the seal was, it required large amounts of both reiatsu and youki. These burn marks are still fresh with them."

"**Hm…**" The voice hummed. "**Contact Kami-dono and Akuma-dono at once! Perhaps they know which seal was used and One's reason to do so.**"

The Darkwing general nodded. His cerulean eyes scanned the burn mark, trying to see if the seal outline was still visible. His lips tightened into a thin line. His spiky blonde hair waved as his head turned back to the voice. "Actually, I think I know which seal he used."

"**Then tell me… General Minato.**" The voice demanded.

"By the looks of it this is a teleportation seal, possibly a **Tenshi/Onijutsu: Koukudo Joutou** **Fuin **(Angelic/Demonic Arts: Realm Jump Seal)." The former Hokage explained. "Should we send troops to intercept him, Shinigami-sama?"

The Emperor of Yomi, decked in ethereal white and black robes, put a hand to his chin. "**No. 'Experiment Two' should be able to handle him. If what Kami-dono has told me is true then Two is on the mortal realm, is that correct?**"

Minato narrowed his eyes in slight confusion. "But, Shinigami-sama how do you know One transported to the mortal realm? For all we know he could've just went Shinkai or Makai."

"**Trust me, captain. One has his reasons to visit the mortal world.**" Shinigami told him. The lord began to walk back to his personal chambers in order to get some rest. Managing a whole realm filled with trillions of souls would cause some major stress pains. Tracking a rogue being who could possibly be a match for any of the three lords causes even bigger ones.

"Get me Hiruzen." Minato told one of the spirits near the door.

"Yes, sir!" The spirit saluted before he ran out of the chamber to search for the other of Shinigami's generals.

-

Ran awoke. She sat up on the bed that she shared with her angelic cousin. The navy blue-haired teen looked around with half-lidded eyes. Hibana snored lightly as she slept next to her, clad only in one of Naruto's smaller shirts. Ran herself was wearing one as well. She also spotted Haku on Naruto's couch, sleeping soundly, with said blonde at the floor next to it. His head was on a small pillow while the rest of his body was uncomfortably sprawled on the hard wooden floor.

The demonic girl got off the bed and immediately walked to the bathroom, stopping only to get her clothes off a dresser near the bathroom door. She came out a few minutes later, fully-dressed and awake. Ran quietly tiptoed to the apartment's exit and pulled the door open. She slowly slid out and closed the door behind her.

As soon as the door closed, she immediately jumped over the railing down to the street four stories below. Ran landed soundlessly and began to stroll in the cool morning air of autumn in Konoha. She studied the decorations everywhere. One was a particularly large and decorated sign that said, "Fifteen years ago, the demon died! Three years ago, it died again!"

Ran was not stupid. She knew of Naruto's past and his memories, many of which he told her personally. The very thought that these people would celebrate at a hero's death sickened her.

'_Psh… Humans. At least some of them turned out to be decent.'_ Ran mentally ranted.

The sound of a door opening caught her attention. She saw a man around her age walk out of a grocery store, a plastic bag of food items in hand. He had black pineapple-styled hair, an apathetic visage and the standard Konoha Chuunin uniform.

Shikamaru glanced at the only other person on the street. It was Naruto's demonic companion. Ran waved at him with a small smile. The Nara ignored it and walked down in the same direction she was going. The green-eyed teen huffed. She caught up to him and tapped his shoulder.

"You're Naruto's friend, right?" Ran asked. Shikamaru grunted in response. She frowned. "You should at least say hi when someone waves at you."

"It's too troublesome." He simply answered.

"Well, fine then." The demoness huffed again. The two continued walking down the street. The sun peaked over the horizon, illuminating the morning twilight in a glow.

"Why are you following me?" Shikamaru asked, not turning to look at her.

"I've got nothing else better to do." Ran replied. "Besides, I love morning walks. The air here in the mortal realm is _way_ better than Makai's. Moisture is something we kind of lack down there."

The lazy Chuunin suddenly stopped, causing the other teen to pause as well.

Shikamaru turned to the girl with a small glare. "Look, Ran-san, I do not trust you. Not in the slightest."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise at the sudden comment. "And why is that?"

"Let's just say Konoha doesn't have a good history with _demons_." He answered, putting slight emphasis on his last word. "Even though Naruto trusts your little façade, I am sure you have no other intention but to harm him. I will not allow that."

"And I thought a friend of Naru-chan's would be less idiotic than that." She hissed at him. "Do you not know his past burdens? A person is not responsible for what they are born as. Their actions and words are not affected at all by their birthright. I am no different."

"True, but he was merely a demon's container." Shikamaru countered. "You on the other hand, are of the same kin as the monster that almost destroyed this village fifteen years ago."

"So does that mean all angels are purely innocent and good then?" Ran said sarcastically. She chuckled. "Does that mean all humans are in the middle, the balance of good and evil?"

"In general, yes." Shikamaru said confidently. "All humans are made to choose, with their own freedom. We possess the ability to be as pure as an angel, or as defiled as a demon. However, every single demon ever encountered by humanity in the course of history has been malevolent and has caused many to suffer."

Ran's eyes immediately softened.

"So…" Her voice became quiet. Shikamaru could barely hear it. "Does that mean we're slaves to the example that certain individuals make? Does that mean we have no choice but be evil?"

The tactician thought for a moment. He looked up at her. "… Yes."

Doors began to unlock as civilians piled onto the streets to do their errands and set up shops. As Konoha's citizens awakened, many either did not notice or did not care to why a shinobi stood motionless in the middle of the street… with a red hand-shaped mark on his cheek.

-

Gaara tried to open his eyes, but had a lot of trouble doing so. With the little slit he managed to open, he saw a big black thing with red blobs on it in front of him. He registered his body to be on top of a hard object that was moving. Wind lashed at his face, indicating he was moving at a fast speed.

The Jinchuuriki groaned as his memory reregistered itself. Memories from his battle with two Akatsuki members last night resurfaced.

'_I've been captured. At least the village is safe.'_ The red-haired Kazekage thought. He silently chuckled. _'If Naruto was still alive, he'd mock me about this until I died.'_

"I think the brat is conscious." A gruff voice said. "He made a noise."

"I'm on it, yeah." Another smoother one answered.

Gaara felt a chop to the back of his neck and the world faded to black.

-

"NARUTO! NO EATING WHILE ON THE JOB!" Ayame shouted as she bopped the blonde on the head with a ladle.

"Srrmphhee." Naruto grumbled, his mouth still full of noodles. He quickly swallowed. "I'll get back to work."

Ayame smiled in exasperation as she watched him continue to stir the boiling noodles.

"Ohayou, Ayame-san!" A deep voice called as its owner entered the stand. "My usual before-mission meal, please!"

"Sure thing Chouji-san!" Ayame cheerfully replied to the 'big-boned' Akimichi. She poured broth into an extra-large bowl specifically made for Akimichis and a certain Uzumaki. The ramen girl then went over to her blonde employee and told him Chouji's preferred toppings.

"And no repeats with yesterday this time." The brunette winked playfully.

"Hai, hai." Naruto replied, rolling his eyes. He strained the water in the pot he was boiling and put transferred all of the noodles into the bowl. He put in the toppings and set it in front of the armored shinobi.

"So…" Naruto said as he watched his portly friend chow down. "How's it been since I was dead, Chouji?"

"It's been good." He replied as he finished slurping down the broth. "Things haven't really changed for me. I go on missions, train, and then eat here or at Asuma-sensei's favorite barbeque restaurant."

"That should be everyone's schedules." The blonde joked. "What could be better than missions, training and eating here at Ichiraku's!?"

"Yeah!" The armored teen chuckled. "I actually think the food here has gotten even better since Teuchi-san went away!"

Naruto furrowed his brow. "You're making sound like he's been gone for a long time."

"But, he _has_ been gone for a long time." Now it was Chouji's turn to furrow.

"Ayame-chan told me he's only at the Ramen Competitions in Demon Country for a few weeks." The angel/demon narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The sound of metal clanging made him turn around. Ayame had dropped her ladle. Her head was bowed and her shoulders were sagging.

"I think I better go." Chouji mumbled as he inconspicuously slid out of his seat and hurried out of the stand.

Naruto walked over to his brunette friend and reached out to touch her shoulder. Ayame suddenly turned and grabbed it. Tears flowed freely from her eyes.

"Ayame-chan?" Naruto asked, his eyes _demanding_ to know where Teuchi had went. "Where is Teuchi-ojisan?"

Ayame sniffed. "H-he's gone."

"Gone where?" The blonde covered the hand that held his hand with his other one.

"I'll tell you." The brunette answered. "It was just a few days since you died. The villagers had begun partying and a few drunkards came to the stand. They attacked us with rusty kunai and sake bottles."

She gasped as tears began to flow again. "They shouted, 'Kill the demon-lovers!' over and over again. They tried to do 'stuff' to me but Tousan fought them off. He got hurt badly. The medics at the hospital said his lungs were pierced by his broken ribs and they couldn't fix it without killing him."

"But, Baachan could heal anything." Naruto said. "Why couldn't she…?"

"Medical Jutsu have no effect on civilians. Most of them use the patient's own chakra system to power the healing. That is the reason medic-nin require only precise chakra control and not large chakra reserves." Ayame interrupted. "The only way to extract the ribs was to send him to the hospital in the capital city. They had equipment there that could save him from death. However, he's been in a coma since."

The ramen girl broke into sobs. "I've made that lie about the ramen competitions over two years ago. It was mostly to encourage myself that he was safe and not at the brink of dying."

The blonde slowly wrapped his arms around Ayame, holding her tightly. He noted how frail his former older-sister figure was at the moment.

"It's strange isn't it?" Naruto mumbled.

"What is?" Ayame asked as she settled into the embrace, putting her head on his shoulder.

The blonde sighed. The ramen girl felt his warm breath tickle her neck.

"You do not feel pain when you die…" Naruto whispered. His voice had a wise tone to it, as if he spoke from first-hand experience (which he did). "But your loved ones do."

Ayame smiled as she pulled her head back in order to look at his face.

"You've grown up, Naruto." She stated.

The blonde grinned. "Well I have to _sometime_, right?"

The brunette's smile fell as her face took on a more serious expression. Naruto blinked in confusion.

"What's wrong now, Aya- mph!?"

Ayame had leaned forward.

-

Hibana walked down the street, enjoying the view of the village. The large village had many interesting things that were new to the young angel. Also, Konoha was warmer than Shinkai usually was in autumn. It was a pleasant change to the usual near-frozen air of Shinkai.

"Where is he?" The angelic teen asked. Haku had asked to know where an ideal weapons store was and had Hibana go ask Naruto for any ideas. She spotted the ramen stand that said blonde now worked in. "Maybe he's there."

The kimono-wearing girl walked up to the stand's flaps and moved one aside in order to peek at the stand's interior. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my Tousan…" Hibana whispered in shock as she stumbled back a few steps. She covered her mouth in shock as her eyes began to water.

-

Kagai walked through dense woodland, taking note of all the wildlife around him. Songbirds chirped jovially, a pair of wolves ran by, a squirrel chewed happily on a nut. The stark contrast to the industrialized Yomi was appealing to the black-haired boy.

"Where are you Hibana-hime?" He mumbled mostly to himself. "Where are you and Ran-hime? I miss you."

There was a flash of black light and a dark figure soared through the canopy. The animals in the forest dropped dead while the trees wilted as it passed by. It seemed Death was the figure's personal escort.

-

**A bit shorter than my usual chapters, but I feel it told what I wanted to tell for now. Review please!**


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